Itty Bitty Problem
by Sundiel260
Summary: When a accident turns the SWAP Forces youngest member into a toddler, their life is thrown into parenthood as they try and take care of their babyfied teammate while trying to find a way to change him back. Update every week or so.
1. A tiny problem

"…what…did you idiots…do?" Was the first question that came out of Night Shift's mouth.

He had been spending his time working out in the training facility in the academy, relieving some stress from the day's earlier event. It was a practical day, nice weather, clear skies, a good breakfast. He was enjoying his time reading the day's newspaper in the academy's study, enjoying some alone time. But just like any other day, his peace and quiet had been stomped on. Freeze Blade, Skylands number one loud mouth, had come up to him and started gabbing away on a new technique he had been doing, going on and on and on and on and on. What happened next, he wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew, he was having an argument with Freeze Blade.

He had plenty of arguments with Freeze Blade before, but this one was more…heated. And before either knew how it would end, Freeze Blade was suddenly on the ground holding his neck as warm blood seeped through his fingers and staining his clothes and fur, looking up at Night Shift with the most feared look on his face that he had ever seen. And Night Shift, who had always kept a level head and an iron will out in battle, suddenly felt sick in the pit of his stomach as his fangs were covered in a thin layer of blood. Freeze Blade's blood.

For the first time in many, many years, Night Shift had snapped and bitten Freeze Blade in pure rage. But as quickly as he did so, he quickly realized what he had done and released Freeze Blade from his jaws. But the damage had already been done. He was in shock. He had never done anything to draw blood from Freeze Blade before. Growl and snap at him? Plenty of times! Teleporting away from him to find some peace? Of course! Hit him upside the head? Only a few times, and he only did that when the cat needed to be quiet. But bite him? Actually and truly to Eon above _bite him?_ Never! Annoying as he may be, he would never consider biting the cat. Never!

When he barely found his voice to speak, to apologies, to say anything, Freeze Blade quickly got up and speed away without so much as a single word. And as he watched him leave, the sickly feeling in Night Shift's stomach grew. It was a first that he had no idea of how, or why, he had done such a thing and he quickly grew frustrated and angry with himself. Wanting to be alone, he spent the rest of the morning to the brisk of the evening taking his anger out on the test robots, punching each one with more force than he ever done before. When the last bot was reduced to a pile of scraps, his anger finally diminished and guilt ate away at him.

But as he considered to go and find Freeze Blade and apologies, Fire Kraken burst into the room the room, followed by Spy Rise, Blast Zone, Trap Shadow, and Wash Buckler, who were all chasing after the fire bouncer. But once he had turned around and spotted them, they suddenly froze, Fire Kraken quickly hiding something behind his back.

"Hiya Night Shift!" Fire Kraken smiled, though it was a bit off. His smile didn't hold all of the enthusiasm or mischief as it usually did. "What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." He eyed them all, seeing each one had a worried or scarred look on their faces. "I was here training all day. But I'll be going now. I need to find Freeze Blade and—"

"NO!" Wash Buckler shouted, rising both of his arms in the air, earning a few looks. "Uh, I mean, Freeze Blade is off on a mission with Boom Jet and Free Ranger. He won't be back for a while."

Night Shift eyed the octopuses. It was odd of his actions, but then again, he was an odd kind of guy. But still, it was a strange way for him to act. "I'm sure that I can catch up with them and help with the mis—"

"Uh, no! They didn't need help. They're fine on their own." Blast Zone waved a hand quickly in his face, laughing uneasy as he avoided eye contact with him.

His eyes narrowed at them, placing both boxing gloves on his hips. Everyone knew that stance. It meant whatever lie he was being told, he was not falling for it. Not in the slightest bit. "Alright, what's going on here? Why are you all acting like you created a monster?"

No one dared looked him in the eye. Not until Spy Rise sighed. "Okay, the truth is…we know what happened between you and Freeze Blade earlier today."

Hearing that, Night Shift's stance loosened, frowning with his ears bending downwards. "…oh. So you…know what happened."

"Yeah. Who knew you had it in you to—OW!" Trap Shadow was quickly silenced by Blast Zone, glaring at him to be quiet.

"He's…still uneasy of what happened and may be it'd be best to leave him be for the time being." Spy Rise continued. "He was still shaken up from the whole…ordeal."

Night Shift nodded. He sighed, rubbing the side of his head. "Alright. I understand."

"Okay! Now I'll just b—" Fire Kraken started, making himself ready to run again, until the sound of a tiny sneeze and ice forming stopped him. "AAAAAAHHHHHH! COLD!" He shouted, jumping up high and accidentally tossing whatever he had hidden behind his back higher in the air.

"FIRE KRAKEN THE KID!" Wash Buckler shouted, grabbing his hat and pulling down on it as he watched the whole thing in fear.

Night Shift, though surprised by the whole action, wasted no time as he teleported himself upwards and catching the child with easy and carefulness. But once he got a look at the child, everything around his frozen in time as he starred at the child, who starred right back at him through a too big for his face navy blue mask that barely stayed on his dark grey fur face.

"…Freeze Blade?" He couldn't believe it, -no-, he wouldn't believe it. This child, this _toddler_ couldn't be Freeze Blade! It just couldn't! There was no way in all of Skyland that Freeze Blade was a baby! It was impossible! The kid just happened to look an awful lot like him and wearing a mask and a way too big for him navy blue shirt just like his! This could not be—!

The kitten sneezed, coating a thin layer of frost on his gloves. He mewed, rubbing his eye with his tiny hand. But Night Shift's focus was more on the tiny cats head and wrists where ice covered the same area that matched exactly like Freeze Blades own. And the more he looked at the kit, he noticed despite the baby fat, his bigger eyes, and childlike features, he could still see the same facial design that he knew him by. He didn't believe it. He still doubted it. He didn't want to believe it…but then, he saw it.

The tiny bite marks that shrunk with his body still fresh in the side of his neck that though smaller now would match with his bite mark.

This baby, this tiny kitten in his gloves, was defiantly Freeze Blade.

"…by Eon." He looked at the babyfied Skylander over and over, drawing up questions in his mind as he thought up the possibilities on how and why Freeze Blade was a child.

"…should we run?"

His ear shot upwards, twisting to the source of the voice. Quickly, he turned his focus on the five adult swappers. Spy Rise, Wash Buckler, and Trap Shadow were all looking at him, huddled together as they were discussing things in hush whispers. Blast Zone was tending to Fire Kraken. The poor lizard had been so surprised by the sudden coldness added to his back, he had forgotten to land on his spring tail and wounded face first to the ground in pain.

Anger slowly boiled in him, narrowing his eyes again as he floated back down to their level. The three slowly backed up, having the looks of fear etched deep in their faces.

"…what…did you idiots…do?" He asked slowly, glaring at them to dare try and think of a lie that could save their skins.

Body trembling, Spy Rise chuckled uneasy. "A, um, accident? Heh heh."

His glare hardened at the robot. "What accident?"

"Um, well, I-I'm not a hundred percent sure how it happened but—"

"FREEZE BLADE GOT BABYFIED BY THIS GUN AIMED FOR TRAP SHADOW BUT INSTEAD IT HIT FREEZE BLADE BECAUSE HE PUSHED TRAP OUT OF THE WAY AND WE THOUGHT HE WAS DEAD! DEAD! B-but instead he…got…turned into a…a baby. …heh." Wash Buckler tapped his fingers together, glancing to and fro from the ground to Night Shift.

"…babyfied by a gun?"

"We couldn't believe it either, but Spy here checked him over, and the DNA matches." Trap Shadow pointed a thumb in Spy Rise direction.

Night Shift looked over each of them before sighing, burying his face in one glove and keeping hold of Freeze Blade in the other.

"Look, we were going to tell you later about this with the rest of the guys, but Fire Kraken got all hype up when he saw Freeze Blade's state and snatched him out of my hands." Spy Rise gestured to the still in pain lizard. "But right now, I need to make sure that Freeze Blade isn't in any danger."

There was a moment's pause before Night Shift pulled the glove down across his face, glancing at the tech before looking down at Freeze Blade. The babyfied cat looked back up at him, head tilted to one side that showed his puncher neck wound in full view. "…fine. But you all are going to tell me the whole story once this is over."

* * *

Spy Rise's lab, or as everyone called it the Spyied Laboratory, was in the safest way the best place to have Freeze Blade checked over without every other Skylander finding out about the situation too quickly. But as safe as it was from others prying eyes, it wasn't really the cleanest places. Half finish drones lined the tables, broken and cracked beakers were scattered here and there with or without something dripping out of them, papers and charts covered the entire floor an inch way up, gears and technical do-dads were in open boxes, tools were missing from their holding places, and the whole area smelled of old grease and burnt wires. Charming place for someone of the Tech element. But Night Shift though otherwise.

He'd never been in Spy Rise's lab before, and quite frankly he regretted ever coming here. The smell bothered his nostrils to a burning sensation that was sure to sting for a while.

"I'm sorry about the mess. I keep wanting to clean this place a bit, but things kept rolling around that distracted me."

Night Shift huffed, adjusting his hold on Freeze Blade. He didn't quite trust the others to hold Freeze Blade as of the earlier incident that happened. "Let's just hurry and get this over with, yes?"

"Yes. Just place Freeze Blade right there on the table." Spy Rise pointed to a, kind of surprisingly, clean table with a strange machine hung over it.

Rising a brow, Night Shift complied and hovered over to the table, carefully placing Freeze Blade down on it.

"Alright, you might want to back up a bit. I'm going to run some scans on him."

He nodded, backing up and watched as the machine whirled to life. Freeze Blade looked up, eyes going big as lights turned on, focusing on him. Different colors lights flashed and scanned over him, gathering data on the young cat. A minute passed by before the scan was complete.

"Well, he's normal and fit. The readings don't show any severity that we should worry about. But I'm going to have to patch up his neck wound to keep from getting infected. His body as it is now might not be able to fight off any viruses as it used to." Spy Rise explained as Night Shift picked up the toddler.

"But how old is he now?"

"Well, judging how he doesn't have any teeth yet and seems to only be able to sit up, I'd say about four or five months old at least."

Night Shift hummed, laying Freeze Blade on his shoulder. "Alright, now what?"

"Well, as I said earlier, I need to patch up his wound, but other than that, I don't really know." The Tech shrugged, heading to one side of the room.

"Isn't there a way to fix this whole mess?"

"Not that I'm aware of, no. But hey, as you and the rest of the guys take care Freeze Blade, I'll be looking up for the—"

"Whoa, whoa! Take care? Of Freeze Blade?!" Night Shift almost wanted to scream. The adult Freeze Blade was bad enough, but actually taking care of Freeze Blade as he is now?!

"Look at him Night Shift!" Spy Rise called over his shoulder as he got the first aid out. "Do you see him being able to take care of himself anytime soon?"

Night Shift was about to protest, but then he looked down at the kitten. Freeze Blade, unaware of his situation or his surroundings, was ideally chewing on his fist, drooling over it as his other tiny hand clung to Night Shift's clothing.

"…no. I suppose not." Night Shift sighed, a little disgusted by the drool dripping onto his clothing.

"Exactly." Spy Rise went over to him with the first aid in hand. "But I wouldn't worry too much right now." He placed the first aid on the table, reaching out with open hands at Night Shift. "May I?" Night Shift handed over the toddler and Spy Rise went straight to work. "If I may ask, why did you bite him in the first place?" He asked, carefully dabbing the wound with anointment to keep it from infecting.

"Why do you ask?" Night Shift crossed his misty arms, the death glare retuning.

Spy Rise was too focus on Freeze Blade to be scared by the glare. "For starters, he didn't really tell me or Wash Buckler why when he ran into us. You won't believe how scarred Wash Buckler was when his saw the blood seeping out. When we asked him what happened…well, he just started to cry, shaking his head and such. All that we got out of him was your name, but that was it." He paused in his work to briefly look at the vampire. "Did you two have a fight or something?"

Night Shift didn't answer, but the down cast look and the frown on his face said it all.

The Tech nodded, resuming his work. "I'm surprised really. In all the years we've all been together, I've never known you to bit anyone aside from a bad guy or a mouse you caught."

"That doesn't make me feel any better."

"I know. It wasn't supposed to." Spy Rise grinned, finishing up his work.

A growl emanated from Night Shift's throat. "I think you better watch what you say."

Spy Rise shrugged, putting away the medical supply after he was finished. "Well, things are wrapped up here." He picked up Freeze Blade, settling him against his chest.

But Freeze Blade didn't like the hard metal that his body was pressed against. It wasn't comfy like the blue thing with the weird face or the soft like the purple one. In fact it felt just the opposite. And he didn't like it one bit.

Both swappers practically jumped when their babyfied member starting to cry suddenly. In fact Spy Rise almost dropped him by mistake.

"Oi, this is going to be a long day." Night Shift sighed as Spy Rise tried his best to calm Freeze Blade down.

* * *

Unfortunately, one problem came to the next as the few swappers who knew Freeze Blade's current state basically knew little to nothing about taking care of children, let alone toddlers.

Wash Buckler sighed as he rocked himself back and forth slowly while rubbing soft circles on Freeze Blade's back as the five month old cried on his shoulder. Wash Buckler had to admit, he'd never expect any of his teammates to come running to him for help given his past actions and mishaps. But when Spy Rise came running to him with Freeze Blade crying out his lungs and handed him the toddler without so much as a word before speeding off, he had to admit that things always take different turn from what you would expect.

"Ssh, ssh, there there little dude it's all right. There's no need to cry." He whispered. While he didn't have the proper knowledge in child care, he did have a slight idea on what to do with a child. He knew that one had to be careful with a baby as they were in such a fragile state in their young age. He made a mental note to keep Freeze Blade away from Fire Kraken and Boom Jet as far as possible. Another thing he knew was that kids like to get messy, as he recalled how messy he was when he was just a youngling octopus. And most importantly, a baby had to be kept an eye on. No one knows what a tiny little tot could do if they were left alone for too long.

Freeze Blade's crying soon went down to little whimpers. His little hands grabbed onto the vest more tightly, rubbing his face deeper into the fabric.

"There we go, much better." Wash Buckler smiled. Freeze Blade sure was cute like this when he wasn't making a fuss and such. Getting back on topic of child care, Wash Buckler had no clue on how to actually raise a child. His thoughts were interrupted by his belly, as well as Freeze Blade's. "It is about time for some dinner." He mused. "Though, what can you eat? You got no teeth in that mouth of yours!"

"You could try milk." Blast Zone suggested. He had been quietly watching Wash Buckler calm the toddler down, and so far Wash Buckler did a dandy job. "After all it's just about all that babies can eat at this age."

"Yeah, that's true." His face frowned as a though occurred to him. "But how are we supposed to get it without the other noticing? Spy did tell us not to show Freeze Blade as he is."

Blast Zone shook his head. "I'll get it. You just have to keep a good eye on him."

"Can do caption!" Wash Buckler saluted.

As soon as Blast Zone was out of sight, Wash Buckler returned his attention to Freeze Blade. The poor guy was sniffling, snot dripping from his nose. "Blegh. Let's get you tissue dude."

Wash Buckler with a toddler in hand made his way to the lounge room. It was a quiet place to relax from a long day of missions and such. Soft cousins, soft drinks kept in these little fridges, and if it was empty, a second bedroom to sleep in. Lucky for him, most of the Skylanders were still out on missions, so the whole room was empty. Wash Buckler hummed as he made his way at the far end of the room, pulling out a handcuff and proceeded to clean Freeze Blades face. "Annnd done!" He smiled, impressed with his work.

Freeze Blade blinked, still sniffing but otherwise okay for the matter. The blue thing was making some noise that he didn't understand, but at least he was more comfy that the hard thing. He decided that he liked this blue thing and smiled.

"Hey! Would you look at that, you're smiling!" Wash Buckler laughed, sitting himself on a sofa. "Daw, you look so cute like this. Almost makes me wished you could stay like this forever…almost." The tiny Skylander looked up at him, still not understanding anything that came out of his mouth. "…you know, I sorta expected you to talk a lot but you're just so quiet little dude." He looked Freeze Blade over, taking his hand out of his mouth and cleaned it from the drool. "I mean sure you're just a baby now, but I was sure that you would still make lots of baby noise and such but nope! You're as quiet as a feather. I would say mouse, but feathers are much much quieter than a mouse."

The smile on Freeze Blade's tiny face vanished as his stomach made more rumbling noise. He whimpered, feeling a very empty feeling in his belly.

"Hungry little dude? Blast Zone should be here with something eat soon…should of probably told him where I went though." The old sea captain tugged at the end of his mustache in thought. "Eh! It'll be fine."

Or that was what he thought. Minutes passed by and when Blast Zone finally found them, Wash Buckler got an ear full.

"Dude! Calm down, no harm was done."

Blast Zone huffed. "You could have just stayed there till I had gotten back. I was searching the whole place for you!"

"Whatever." Swatting one hand in front of his face, Wash Buckler reached for the glass filled with milk with his tentacles. "Is this stuff alright for the kid?" He held the bottle in front of himself.

"It's all that was in the fridge."

Wash Buckler sighed, popping the top open. "Fine I guess it'll do for now."

The next fifteen minutes was probably the messiest. It took four minutes to try and convince Freeze Blade that the white liquid was edible and safe, a full minute for Wash buckler to actually get the glass in his mouth, and ten minutes of running and dripping liquid from the glass as it was not made to be drunk by babies and the adult-turned-baby's mouth wasn't big enough to hold all the milk so it dripped into the sofa and Wash Buckler himself.

"Okay I think that's enough for now." Wash Buckler concluded, pulling the glass away and capping the top back on. Only a third of its contents remained but most of it was on Wash Buckler than in the toddler's stomach.

Blast Zone shuffled a chuckle. Poor Wash Buckler looked like a mess.

"What are you grinning at?"

The furnace knight blinked. For odd reason's of the unknown, Wash Buckler could read him like an open book on his emotions, despite the fact that his helmet really couldn't display any other looks than the one. "Nothing."

Wash Buckler, clearly not amused, was about to accuse Blast Zone when Freeze Blade started to squirm and whine in his grasp, saving the fire knight from an earful.

"What's the matter little dude?"

Freeze Blade whined, squirming more and more as tears started to form in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"How should I know?! I'm not a baby expert!" Wash Buckler placed Freeze Blade on his shoulder, bouncing him while patting his back as he started to cry.

"Is he still hungry?"

"Doubt it. I don't want more milk dripping on me."

"Well then how—"

" **UUAARRP!** "

They both froze. Slowly, Wash Buckler held out the tiny tot as he and Blast Zone stared at him. Freeze Blade's eyes were wide, bits of milk trailed down one side of his mouth. A big grin appeared on his face before he squealed and laughed, clapping his hands clumsily together and grabbing both his feet happily.

"…well that's one way to pass gas." Blast Zone commented, scratching his head.

Wash Buckler nodded, slowly grinning as he brought Freeze Blade close to his chest. "You're a rascal you know that?" He tapped the end of the kits nose, earning another giggle fit from him.

* * *

 **And done! First chapter is up. Leave a review on your thoughts.**


	2. Oh hi guys, meet the new Freeze Blade

_First off, I would like to thank LiteFox for leaving_ _a_ _review for this story. I'm glad to see you like this story, and I hope to see you continue liking it as I continue on. And I apologize for pulling your heartstrings, I needed a eye catching opening start for this story. Now, if anyone has a suggestion or a plot point for this story as it goes on, I'll be more than happy to hear the idea! Just leave a review or PM me your ideas, and I may try and work the story around it.  
_

* * *

Something was amiss amongst the Skylanders. He could feel it in his bones. The problem was he just didn't know exactly what it was. Was it something major? Or was it minor? Were his teammates involved? Or was it someone else? He didn't know, and he didn't like not knowing.

"Hey Magna Charge? Do you feel that something is maybe a bit off?"

Magna Charge blinked his one eye at the Life swapper, slowing his pace down for Stink Bomb to keep up with him. "No. Nothing feels off. My servos are still go—"

"No, not that off." Stink Bomb cut him off, shaking his head. "I mean that something might be wrong back at the academy."

"Oh. Not really." The Ultron shrugged. "Though…now that you mention it, something was a bit off this morning."

"What?"

"Well, for some strange reason." Magna Charge slowed to a stop, crossing his arms. "An unthinkable thing happened."

Stink Bomb stopped in his tracks. "Unthinkable? What unthinkable thing?"

Magna Charge closed his eye. "The one thing that I never thought could happen in a million years in my life."

"What?! What?! What happened?!" Stink Bomb's tail wagged back and forth, fanning its wretched stench into a cloud of green smoke. "Tell me!"

The Ultrons eye opened, fist clenched. "Freeze Blade didn't challenge me to a race this morning!"

…

Stink Bomb stared at him.

"…what?"

The Life swapper didn't anything as he continued to walk along.

"What? What did I say?" Magna Charge followed after the skunk. "It never happened before! Freeze Blade always challenges me to a race!"

"Well maybe he didn't want to race you today."

"Not likely." The Ultron speed in front of Stink Bomb, turning around and faced him as he rolled backwards with his attention on the skunk. "I've known that cat for years. A whole one hundred years! And he's never gone a day without a race with me."

Stink Bomb shrugged. "Maybe he'll challenge you once we get back."

"…yeah." Magna Charge twisted around, facing the front again, crossing his arms in thought. "Maybe."

"Come on Charge, let's get back to the academy." Stink Bomb suggested, going into a sprint. He knew that the Ultron loved to race. Racing always seemed to put his spirits up in a good mood when he seemed down. Just like he hoped, Magna Charge was zipping past him at top speed.

Stink Bomb couldn't really recall Magna Charge's need for speed. It could of been when he couldn't control his magnet and had to out run the objects following after him, or possibly it was thanks to Freeze Blade's constant challenge to a race against one another. The cat never liked to be second place in speed and always wanted to push himself past his limits. None the less, Stink Bomb worried for the cat. Wanting to push past his limits was good and all, but sometimes he would just go too far and completely exhaust himself into a coma. Not to mention the stunts and trouble he seemed to get himself into time to time.

"Oh Freeze, what trouble do you get yourself into?"

* * *

"What Kind Of Mess Did You Get In To?!"

Wash Buckler sighed as he gave Night Shift the babyfied cat. "Nothing, I was just feeding the kid." Making his way to the back of his room, -everyone decided to hold a meeting there on Freeze Blade's condition-, to the bathroom to freshen up.

"You look like a mess!" Spy Rise exclaimed as he examined the octopus head to tentacles, his face scrunching in disgust. "How could you possibly get this dirty by feeding a child?"

Wash Buckler glared at the Tech. "Kids are messy. You can't expect them to be clean the entire time dude. Plus the glass was a bit too big for his mouth."

Spy Rise, growling under his breath, sighed as pinched the bridge of his nose, if he had one. "Alright, well, let's get on to the matter at hand here, shall we?" His focus was turned to the Undead boxer. "I suppose you want the full story?"

Night Shift nodded, holding Freeze Blade securely in his gloves and close to him as possible.

"Well as Wash Buckler had mentioned before." He gestured to the sea pirate, who was cleaning himself from the milk splatters. "Freeze Blade got…uh, babyfied by a gun after he shoved Trap Shadow out of the way of fire on a mission with us. Luckily, he survived but unfortunately he was turned into a toddler." He shook his head. "It doesn't make any sense though. The highly molecular structure in that lazerbeam should of destroyed him, not…this." He gestured one hand to Freeze Blade, who was ideally pulling on his ears.

Fire Kraken, laying on his stomach on the bed, wagging his tail with his grin ever present chuckled. "You should have seen Spyied's reaction when he saw Freeze Blade! He was all panicky and funny looking!"

" ** _Thank_** you, Fire Kraken."

"You're welcome!"

Night Shift, being silent for a while as he thought over what Spy Rise had said, sighed. "So basically you have no idea on how this happened or how to turn him back then?"

"I'm afraid so. And until I find a solution to turn him back, we're going to be stuck caring for him for the time being."

"But none of us know how to tack care of a child, let alone a baby!"

"Trial and error dude! Trial and error!"

"I agree with you Night Shift, but that won't be a problem for long. I'll be looking up the info on my computer on the what to dos as the rest of you care for him."

Frowning, Night Shift placed one boxing glove on his hip. "Aren't you going to help take care of Freeze Blade as well?"

The spy had a mixed motion of horror and disgust written on his face. "Uh, well, I'll be, _ahem_ , p-pretty busy and such, so, um, ah."

Night Shift's eyes narrowed. "Oooh no. You have as much responsibility in this as the rest of us. You're not skipping out on this!" He jabbed his boxing glove to Spy Rise's chest.

"Sounds like someone's a little afraid of caring for the tike." Trap Shadow smirked from his place at the door. "What's the matter Spy? Nervous of a wittle baby?" He snorted before promptly bursting out in laughter.

His body shook as Spy Rise gritted his teeth, clenching and unclenching his hands while glaring straight at Trap Shadow. "Well if you're so confident, why don't you take care of Freeze Blade for the rest of the day?!"

"…okay."

Objects were not the only thing to get broken. Spy Rise's anger was quickly shattered by the answer, not because he just realized that putting Trap Shadow in charge of watching over a toddler was the last thing in the world he would ever consider doing in a million light years, but by the fact that Trap Shadow had answered so impassive. But Night Shift on the other hand was not so shocked. In fact, he was else wise.

"Eh, no. I don't think so." He tightened his grip on the kitten, twisting his body so that Freeze Blade was out of the tigers line of sight.

"What's the matter old bat? Don't trust me enough?"

"No, I don't." Night Shift snorted. "In fact, I wouldn't trust you with anything that draws breath. One way or another, every creature left in your care winds up dead!"

It was true. There were a few times that someone from the SWAP Force or not would walk in with an animal. Few times they brought them because the animal was hurt and needed treatment, other times they brought them because they were assigned to watch after them, and once or twice the animal would just follow them home. They did take care of them, bringing them back to health and releasing them, but there was one rule which all swappers followed.

Never leave Trap Shadow in charge of caring for animals.

Every animal, big or small, would somehow wind up dead the next hour or so and displayed as a trophy in his room. The only thing that survived the longest with him was a cobra, which had gotten lose three times before he killed and skinned it. For the sake of any animal, and to minimize the horror of any young Skylander and child, every animal, or something alive, was kept far away from Trap Shadow.

"Come on Shift, I'll be gentle with him."

"No! Not in a million years!"

"Not even if I was the last Skylander in Skyland?"

"Not even if you _were_ the last one in the _universe_!"

"But Shift." Trap Shadow wanted to protest in the vampires decision, when the door suddenly swung right open with the other members rushing in after Hoot Loop with a very, very, _very_ angry Grilla Drilla hot on his feathers.

" **I'M GOING TO RIP EVERY SINGLE FEATHER OFF OF YOU!** "

"CAN'T WE JUST TALK ABOUT THIS?!" Hoot Loop screamed in terror, teleporting just out of the gorillas grasp.

The current swappers that were already present watched in confusion as Grilla Drilla tried grabbing the magical owl as the rest of the swappers tried to keep the enraged digger from doing who knows what to Hoot Loop. It wasn't really a new sight to behold. It was actually quite common for this to happen. Someone in the SWAP Force would get another member angry enough that they chase the other around until they tire out or if they catch their target. Most of the time it was Freeze Blade and Night Shift who fill that role along with Fire Kraken and Spy Rise. But it was also rare for the honest gorilla to ever get angry enough to chase after someone. Though it was not as shocking to who could do that task so easily like Hoot Loop.

While the others didn't bother to step in and help the owl and ideally just stayed back and watch the whole thing, Freeze Blade on the other hand, was not enjoying this one bit. First off, his now baby brain was trying so hard to process what was going on with the new creatures in the room. They were big and different looking, and made lots and lots of loud noises. And loud noises were what babies didn't like too much too often. And he, right now, was no different than a normal baby. Freeze Blade whimpered, shrinking deeper into Night Shifts hold while his tiny ears flattened themselves against his head as he watched Grilla Drilla finally catch Hoot Loop by the neck and proceeded to strangle the bird, yelling at him as Hoot Loops eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets while Rubble Rouser and Doom Stone tried to pry Grilla Drilla's hands off of Hoot Loop as the rest were trying to, and failing, to pull the two swappers away from each other. Then, having enough of everything, he let out the biggest wail he could muster, gaining everyone's attention off of the murder chaos.

At first, everyone was frozen in place, having their eyes on the vampire boxer who currently had no idea on calming the babyfied teammate down as it was not in his element or knowledge, and was looking around with a slight panicked look before Wash Buckler came to his rescue and took the child in his arms. There was a few minutes of toddler cries and Wash Buckler gently rubbing the baby's back as he rocked back and forth, whispering calm soft words that eventually calmed Freeze Blade enough. With his energy spent, the toddler yawned and snuggled close to the octopus's chest, lulling to sleep by the rhythmic heartbeat that put him at ease.

Rattle Shake, having his hold on Boom Jet who had hold on one of Hoot Loops legs, was the first to break out of his shock. "Uh, amigo? Why is there a baby in your arms?"

"And why does it look an awful lot like Freeze Blade?" Free Ranger asked, still having his tight hold on Grilla Drillas leg.

"Because he really is Freeze Blade."

Wash Buckler may have not use the right words the moment he said them. It only took a full minute for them to look at him, then at the sleeping child with a thumb in his mouth, and back at him before looking at Spy Rise, who merely shrugged a tad and nodded slightly with an impassive face, then all evil brook lose.

"GRANDES SERPIENTES!"

"What In Skylands Did You Do To Him?!"

"PPPPHT! HAHAHAHAHA! HE'S A KID! A TINY BABY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Okay, I'm confused here. Are you sure that's Freeze Blade?"

"That's The Reason Why He Didn't Challenge Me To A Race This Morning?! Because He Turned Into A _Baby_?!"

"You Have Two Minutes To Explain Yourselves Before I Start Pounding It Out Of You!"

"What happened to him?!"

Wash Buckler held onto Freeze Blade tighter, backing up as the swappers came at him with questions with Spy Rise and Night Shift being his only guard at the moment.

"The kid got turned into a toddler by a gun on a mission! End of story!"

All eyes turned to the doorway. Trap Shadow stepped out from behind the door, rubbing his sore muzzle. The room became silent again, only this time, everyone was well aware that the youngest member of the SWAP Force, still asleep despite all the shouts earlier, was somehow now a toddler.

Grilla Dilla was not satisfied by the answer. He looked at Spy Rise, huffing. "How is Freeze Blade a baby? How is it even possible?"

"Believe me, if I had the knowledge of how it happened, I would be trying to turn him back right now." Spy Rise looked at Freeze Blade, frowning. "But I don't. He just…turned into a kid."

Hoot Loop teleported next to Wash Buckler, examining Freeze Blade. "My my. Even magic can't do such a thing like this."

"So using magic to change him back is out of the question?" Night Shift asked, pulling Hoot Loop away from the sea captains personal space. "Great. Fangtastic."

"Believe me, I would try and change him back, but magic like that would need years of practice, concentration, and loads of energy to do so. But there's also the risk factors of what could happen an—"

"Alright, alright we get it. Magic can't solve this." Fire Kraken butted in, jumping on the owl. "But you got to admit! He's soooooo cute like this!" He smothered his face, cooing at the sleeping toddler. "Look at him~. He's adorable! Look at the wittle face~. The wittle fingers~. Aaaawww~. I just wanna gobble him up!" At that comment, Wash Buckler backed up away from him as Blast Zone grabbed him from behind and pulled him away. "What? I was just kidding. I won't eat him, honest! Hey Stink Bomb! What do you think of Freeze Blade? …Stink Bomb?"

Stink Bomb stood in place, frozen on the spot with his eyes glued on the toddler. He had been quiet the entire time after learning of the state the ice cat was in.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Free Ranger waved one hand in front of the skunks face, getting no response from him. "Huh. I think his brain might be broken."

"Can you blame him? It is quite a big shock." Night Shift commented, crossing his arms. "Though you guys didn't have to find out after saving the kitten after he was tossed in the air."

"My bad."

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-BUT WHO'S GOING TO RACE ME NOW?!" Magna Charge cried out, holding his head with a frantic look over placing his happy go to look. "I HAVE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO RACE!"

"Calm down Magna Charge. You can race against one of us." Blast Zone went over to the Ultron, trying to calm him down and not wake the sleeping toddler in the room.

"BUT IT WON'T BE THE SAME! AND ALL YOU GUYS ARE SLOWPOKES!"

"…gee, thanks for letting us know that." Boom Jet deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"Come on Charge, I'm sure that you can race against at least one of us." Doom Stone placed a hand on Magna Charges shoulder. "And if you can't then you could try something else to pass the time other than racing."

"He's right, amigo." Rattle Shake smile, lightly stroking the head of the snake loaded in his gun. "No sense to race all the time, right?"

"You can go a couple days without racing, dude. No need to get all dramatic like Spy Rise does."

"Wash Buckler is r—HEY! I do not get dramatic!"

"Yes you do. You go all panicky and scared looking and you talk faster and you get sweaty an—"

"I'M A ROBOT YOU IDIOT! I CAN'T SWEAT!"

"Then why do I see droplets of water on you sometimes?"

"IT'S FROM THE HUMIDITY! THE COMMON HOT AND COLD AIR CLIMATE!"

"…don't make no sense to me."

"YOU'RE WORDING IT WRONG! IT'S IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE!"

"See! See! You're going all panicky right now!"

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"And it was?"

" _I DON'T GET DRAMATIC!_ "

"But—"

"Shesh. The kid must be a heavy sleeper. You two could wake up a whole building with all the noise you're making." Rubble Rouser commented.

Night Shift, uncovering his ears, looked at the two before his face fell. "Uh, no. He's not there."

"What?" Spy Rise glanced at him, still slightly irritated with his argument with Wash Buckler.

"He's not there!" Night Shift repeated.

Everyone looked at him confusingly before looking at their leader.

…Who had his arms crossed and not holding their babyfied teammate. Everyone stared at the leader before the panic set in and begun to search frantically for the five month old

"AH! Where'd He Go?!" Wash Buckler looked at his arms after suddenly realizing how light they felt.

"You lost him?!" Spy Rise screamed, holding his head in disbelief. "HOW COULD YOU LOSE A FIVE MONTH OLD IN YOUR ARMS?!"

"I DON'T KNOW! HE DISAPPEARED INTO THIN AIR LIKE MAGIC! …"

Heads slowly turned to Trap Shadow as the tiger was looking under the bed. He knew he was being stared at the moment their eyes were on his back. "…what? Why are you all—"

Angry accusations were thrown at the tiger, none realizing that there was another teammate not present in the room.

* * *

Stink Bomb quickly walked and sprinted while he avoided being seen by the other Skylanders in the building, dodging behind corners and cloaking in his stealth mode and sneaking past. He really didn't want to be seen right now, there was too much going on in his mind to be thinking clearly. He needed some time to clear his thoughts. And get Freeze Blade away from the rest of the team as far as possible.

Maybe it was a bad thing that he took the toddler out of Wash Buckler's arms while he was in stealth mode and snuck out while he and Spy Rise were arguing, but in his defense they were getting too loud and they could of woke him up. Plus, he didn't quite trust his teammates to care for a kid. They were rough and tough and got into arguments that sometimes turn in a fight that probably ended with one not speaking to the other for a while. Clearly not the best caretakers in all of Skylands.

Stink Bomb finally made it to the outside behind the academy, carefully walking down the steps two by two and going into a full sprint once he reached the bottom step and headed to the bridge connecting to one floating island filled with trees. It was used as a training ground for the Skylanders to hone their skills in stealth and survival, but to him, it was home. Well, technically, it was where he was located to stay since his smell didn't go so well with the others. He didn't blame them, his smell was pretty bad. But he didn't mind that he lived in a forest next to the academy. It was prefect to his element, along with a few other Life Skylanders who lived in the trees.

He ran, keeping it less bumpy so he wouldn't disturb Freeze Blade. It wasn't long till he found his tree, which was located in the center of the island. It was thicker and taller than the rest of the trees in the forest, so it was quite easy to spot far off. But like most creatures, his home was at the top in a hollowed out hole. It was hard to get up there, but it was rewarding to finally arrive and lay down on the soft cushion of his bed.

Huffing, he readjusted his hold on the toddler with one arm secured around him, and the other free for use. Bending his knees, he launched himself at the tree, digging his nails into the bark and holding tight. Taking a slight breather, Stink Bomb started to climb. While he would admit, swapping his legs with Spy Rise or Wash Buckler to get up there quicker would have been easier, Stink Bomb always believed in honing his skills rather than taking an easy way out. Plus, the two swappers didn't seem to want to listen to anyone back then.

Halfway up, Freeze Blade woke up. Yawning while rubbing his eye to rid of the sleep still lingering, he blink, seeing Stink Bomb up close for the first time since he was babyfied. Now, granted, Freeze Blade knew it wasn't the strange looking blue thing, or the soft purple thing, or ever the funny sounding black thing that held him rougher than both of them, but oddly was very comfortable and gentle, especially when the black thing held him to his chest. But now there was this green, funny smelling thing holding him. He couldn't decide if it was bad like the really hard thing or the jumpy yellow thing, or good like the blue, purple, and black things.

Not long after, Stink Bomb finally reached his destination. The entryway to his home was closed off by an oak door with a green Life symbol in the middle. Turning the knob and swinging the door open, Stink Bomb stepped inside, smiling as he looked around as he closed the door behind him.

It wasn't a real fancy place, but it was standard and fit to his liking. Just a bed, a bathroom, a small kitchen and all the simple necessities. He looked down at his companion, blinking in surprise to find that Freeze Blade was staring back up at him fully awake.

"Oh hey. When did you get up?" He held up the tiny kitten to his eye level. Freeze Blade cooed, reaching out with one hand and trying to touch Stink Bomb's face. "You must have had a rough day, huh? Being turned into a baby and such." He spotted the bandage wrapped secured around the tiny child's neck. "Looks like you got hurt as well." Stink Bomb examined Freeze Blade as he made his way to his bedroom.

Freeze Blade was small. Smaller than a regular five month old. In fact, when compared to one of Night Shift's gloves, he would fit right in it with no trouble and no part of him would show. Stink Bomb frowned. There could be many places in the academy where Freeze Blade could crawl into and get lost. His fur had gotten thicker and soft compared to his fur before, which was thin and silky looking. Another thing to notice was his cloths. They were just too big for him now. His shirt covered him way past his legs, but the mask was just too big for his face, and most of it hung off of it.

"You need some new clothes. A probably a dipper." He commented, carefully placing the toddler tummy down on his soft cushion bed. "Wait right here, I'll be back before you know it." Stink Bomb walked out of the room, keeping door open to keep an eye on the tot and rush back if anything happened.

Freeze Blade blinked, watching the green smelly thing go. It seemed alright. Besides being smelly, it had a nice warmth and it was comfy when it held him. It was nice to be with this thing…even if it did smell and seemed a little familiar. Odd. As far back as his baby mind would go, he didn't really recall the green thing before, yet for some reason, he felt that he knew it from somewhere before. Though he just couldn't put his thumb on it. Blinking again, he proceeded to look around the place.

It was a neat and tidy space. A hand craved in bookshelf on one side, a painting stool next to the bed, a round window to the outside world that was slightly opened, and a giant Life symbol painted on the ceiling. Of course, none of this made any sense to his baby mind. To him, they were just odd do-dads and strange looking items. Babbling, Freeze Blade tucked his chubby arms under him, making cute little grunts as he tried to push himself up. He didn't get far in his task, only managing to flip himself on to his back with a small ouff sound. "Wooooooo."

About two minutes later, Stink Bomb returned with a few items in hand, taking noticed of the flipped over tot. "I thought I put you on your belly." He placed the items down, picking up the toddler and placing him in a sitting position. "There. Is that better?"

Freeze Blade cooed, smiling up at Stink Bomb.

"That's good." Stink Bomb smiled, sitting next to the babyfied teammate. Grabbing the items, which was an old dirty tan color cloth and a pair of scissors, Stink Bomb set to work cutting fabric. Occasionally, he would pause from his work and take Freeze Blade's measurements and tickle the tot under his chin, earning a few giggles to keep him from being bored from watching him work. Finally, after getting enough good size pieces of cloth, Stink Bomb set to work sowing the needed pieces together as baby Freeze Blade watched him in curiosity.

"Done!" Stink Bomb smiled, holding out a handmade toddler shirt and pants. "Now all that's left is to get you in a dipper and put these cloths on you." He smiled down at Freeze Blade, tapping the tip of his ear, which flicked at his touch.

Freeze Blade didn't pay any attention to him as he laid on the green things tail, which was nice and soft and warm…and the smell seemed to be stronger there. He whined in disapproval when the green thing picked him up off his comfy place and tried to put a tight thing on him. He didn't want that on him. He wanted his soft fluffy smelly place!

"Freeze Blade, hold still!" Stink Bomb struggled to put a brown cloth on the toddlers behind as a substitute for a dipper, but babyfied Freeze Blade had other plans. "Jess, for a tiny guy, you sure have a lot of fight in you." At least when he finally got the dipper on, Freeze Blade didn't fight back as much when he took off his too big shirt and put the handmade ones one him, deciding to leave the mask on him for now. "Finally." He sighed, lying Freeze Blade back down on his tail, who yawned and snuggled his into tail while holding it in a toddler tight grip, rubbing his face in the light green fur.

He couldn't help but smile at the action. Glancing out the window, he sighed contently. The crescent moon was starting to peak over the trees, crickets chipped quietly to the breeze bellow, not a single thing stirred under the starlight night. Birds were nestled in their nests in the treetops with their chicks rested under their wings. Tiny rabbits hopped out of their holes and grazed the grass till they had their fill. A night owl hooted in the night, taking off and flying against the star lit sky. The gentle wind rustled the leaves on the branches. The misty blue bat flapped its wings as it glared at him through the window with the biggest fangs he'd ever—

Misty.

Blue.

Bat?

His content face fell off with only horror in its place as he realized two things. Bats weren't misty blue. Grumpy, angry, blood sucking, boxing vampire who could turn into a bat and was really, really, **_extremely_** mad at him right now were misty blue. "…uh, heheh." With a weak grin, Stink Bomb slightly waved at the Undead boxer. "H-hi Shift."

Night Shift said nothing, continuing to glare at the skunk through the glass before teleporting inside and transforming back into his true form with his anger eyes still on the Life swapper as Stink Bomb tried to make himself as little as possible. He knew that out of all of the rest of the team, Night Shift found him the easiest to coop with because of his quiet and understanding personality. But as far as he knew the vampire liked him, it didn't stop the boxer from throwing a punch or two at him when got annoyed or angry with him. And Eon, did Night Shift looked furious right now.

It had taken an hour of questioning Trap Shadow on the missing baby teammate whereabouts, with a bit of encouragement from Night Shift, before anyone had realized that Trap Shadow clearly didn't have the tiny baby on him. A two hour search was ensured around, in, and under the whole academy for any sign of the five month old with not luck. It wasn't till later when Free Ranger noticed the absence of Stink Bomb, prompting the grumpy vampire to go search for him. Night Shift, with the itty-bitty tiniest hint of worry for the missing toddler teammate, knew exactly where to search first for the skunk. Transforming into his bat form, he took off to the forest as fast as his wings could flap. But when he got there, all the worry –which was the size of an ant— cracked and shattered, melting slowly into a white hot pit of fiery anger when he saw the missing babyfied Freeze Blade, fine and all right, trying to grab the tip of Stink Bombs tail as it moved a split second before he could grab it while the skunk was busy sowing up the last stitch in what looked like a handmade shirt.

His anger didn't waver one bit when the skunk finally looked outside and spotted him. No. Night Shift was beyond reasoning right now. Far beyond reasoning. He had spent three whole hours trying to look for the five month old with his teammates running around like a headless chicken, only to find out that Stink Bomb had him the whole time safe and sound without telling or at least letting anyone know.

His fists trembled in rage as he pulled back his right gloved fist, aiming for the skunks face. He didn't care at the moment if he shattered or permanently destroyed Stink Bomb's face and/or skull, all he wanted to do right now was teach him a lesson in taking the youngest member without letting others know.

But before he could swing it at him, Stink Bomb held both his hands up, quickly gesturing him a 'be quiet' sign and repeatedly pointed to his tail. Night Shift hesitated slightly, still keeping his fist ready to swing just in case. Slowly, Night Shift shifted his gaze from Stink Bomb to his green furry tail. Freeze Blade was sound asleep against the skunk's soft fur, sucking on his little thumb contently. He looked so peaceful, so innocent, completely unaware to the evil and dangers of the world around him. He just looked so cute.

Night Shift stared at the baby, weighing his options. One, he could punch Stink Bomb, really, really hard, and potentially draw blood and cause a lot of noise that could wake up Freeze Blade up and make him scream and cry in fear from seeing the blood and/or woken so rudely and he would have no clue in calming him down and trying to explain to the others why Stink Bomb was dead. Or option two, he could let this one slide, not punch Stink Bomb, and let Freeze Blade sleep on with no disturbance. He was slightly leaning against option one, buuut then again he really didn't want to have an ear shattering crying tot to deal with right now. Sighing as he made his decision, he lowered his glove down, still glaring slightly at Stink Bomb.

Stink Bomb let out a breath of air he hadn't realized he was holding in, patting his chest to get his heart rate down. That was a close call. He smiled slightly at Night Shift, glad to be spared at the moment.

The night was quiet again. Mammals who didn't wander the night slept in their homes as dreams danced in their heads. The small creak flowed gently against the banks of the earth as the fish swam with the current. Fireflies lit up and danced with grace. A few sheep were up and about, bleating once or twice before going back to grazing the grass. And Night Shift strangled Stink Bomb with both boxing gloves as he shook him like a doll, still angry at the skunk as Freeze Blade slept on without disturbance or worry of his surroundings or the things going on all around him at the moment.

* * *

 **Quick note to anyone reading this. I will be probably posting a new chapter each week or so. Please leave a review on how I did~**


	3. Morning with the Skylanders

_LiteFox: Love your ideas! They're great for this story! I can't wait to use them!_

 _VictorianWriting: I know right?! Who could resist such an idea?! Eeeeee!_

 _Guest: Glad you think so! I hope you continue reading!_

 _Now, onto the story! Quick warning, heartstrings **will** be pulled later on in the story! You have been warned!_

* * *

Morning in Skyland was, in a way, eventful. Each day was a new day to begin with new memories to create. Adventure to seek out and dangers yet to be discovered. You could tell it would be a good morning when the sun just started to peak out over the horizon, casting its golden rays across the land and bathed it in warmth of its glow. But, if you just happened to be a Skylander, mornings were sometimes the noisiest thing to a morning wake up call. Most would have it off easy and sleep through most of the morning and others…not so much.

Especially if one team had spent most of their night trying to find someone and turns out to be alright when it was thirty minutes past midnight. For the record, let's just say none of the SWAP Force wanted to get up anytime soon that morning. Aside from one being who got up earlier than the rest of his teammates.

The morning sunlight shined in through the window, lighting the whole room up perfectly. The rays of sunshine however bothered a five month old wildcat from his sleep in his tiny makeshift bed next to the bigger bed, made out of blankets and clean clothes that could be found. Freeze Blade whined, shifting his body to turn away from the sun's annoying light. But his tummy made some noise, and that empty feeling inside him was back…plus he felt a little warm down below. Puffing his cheeks out, he whined for the green smelly thing to come and get him and get rid of the empty feeling inside. When the smelly thing didn't come, he whined louder, and louder, and louder still when the green thing still didn't show up. He started to cry, frustrated that the green thing was not coming to his call.

Unknown to Freeze Blade however, Stink Bomb was a bit unconscious to hear his crying, but someone else could hear him perfectly.

Night Shift groaned, shifting his wings closer to his body as he hung from the doorway while trying to ignore Freeze Blade's pestering cries that got louder and louder as he tried to sleep. The vampire had spent the whole night watching over the kit since…well, Stink Bomb couldn't handle it at the time. Other than the tiny snores and moving in his sleep, Freeze Blade slept alright last night. But now the little one was awake and crying, keeping him from getting any of his sleep.

"Kitten, please be quiet. I need my rest." Night Shift huffed quietly, folding his ears close to his head to block out the noise. He sighed and gave up trying to get any shut eye after five minutes of endless crying. "Fine, I'm coming." Unfolding his wings, he released his grip, free-falling till he opened his wings out, letting the wind catch him and cease his descent. Flapping his wings, he hovered over to the babyfied teammate.

Freeze Blade paused in his attempt to get the green thing to come. His ears picked up a different sound that he'd never heard before. Looking up, a new thing appeared above him. His head tilted to one side, watching the new thing come down to his level and land next to his head. Wide eyed with curiosity, the little kit watched the new thing in fascination.

Night Shift knew he was making a mistake to be getting this close to a toddler while in his bat form, but right now he didn't really care at the moment. He was too tired to change back to his real form to care. All he wanted to do was check on the kit, fly back up to his sleeping spot, and finally get some shut eye in the morning. "Alright, what is the problem?" He could practically guess that the baby cat just wanted to keep him awake and annoy him just like his older self did. However, he was a toddler now, so he probably didn't even recall anything of his adult memories. Night Shift frowned at the thought. If Freeze Blade didn't have any of his old memories, than did that mean he wouldn't recall any one of his friends? Would he still recall everyone once he was back to normal?

As Night Shift was deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice a little grey furred hand reaching towards him till it was right in front of his face. Letting out a surprised shriek, he jumped back and flew out of the toddlers reach. "Watch what you're doing!"

Freeze Blade babbled, trying to reach the new thing with his hands. To him, Night Shift's bat form was a new item to the tot's eye, and he wanted this new thing!

Night Shift however was not enjoying this new recent attention. "Stop this at once! I'm not a toy for you to play with!" But unfortunately, he had gotten just a liiiiittle too close to the kit. He let out a bat shriek when one of Freeze Blades tiny fingers grabbed the tip of his wing and started to pull him down. "Let go! Let go right! Now!" If he was in his true form, his screams and demands would have been louder, but in his bat form his voice was shrunk down, so his level of yelling was as loud as an average person talking normally.

Freeze Blade giggled as he grabbed the new thing with both his hand as it squirmed in his hold. It made odd noises, and it was fluffy! He brought the squirmy thing into a hug, holding tight as his little arms could hold it. He liked this new squirmy thing.

"THAT'S! **IT!** "

A puff a smoke exploded, destroying the makeshift bed as clothes and blankets scattered the room in an ungraceful manner. The smoke cleared instantly as it had appeared, and hovering in place where the little bed was Night Shift, back in his real form, dusting imaginary lint off himself, looking very agitated from the earlier 'incident'. "Ba! Incompetent child…" His face fell slowly as he looked around the room. "…where are you?"

The little babyfied kitten wasn't anywhere in his line of sight. In fact, he wasn't anywhere in the room!

The seriousness of the situation dawned on him as he looked around once, twice, _three_ times over the whole room with no sign of the little toddler. "Freeze Blade?! Where are you?! Where ar—?" Night Shift paused in his movements, keeping still as possible. Then, he felt movement on top his head, getting a pretty good idea what it was. Suddenly, his eyes were covered up as something slide down on his face. A moment later, he was staring directly at the tiny grey furred face of his teammate who stared right back at him while holding onto Night Shift's hair in his toddler grip to keep himself from slipping any further.

"…you were on my head? Really?"

"…"

"…I'll take the silence as a yes." He huffed, carefully prying the little teammate off his face and into his arms. He sighed. He should be yelling at the ice cat for his earlier action for almost squishing him to death, even if he was already dead. Well, undead. But he was a baby now, he didn't know any better. He didn't know how to handle things anymore; he probably wouldn't even know that danger could stand right in front of him if it was present.

Freeze Blade kept staring up at the black thing, trying to figure out how it got there so suddenly and why his squirmy thing was gone, when his belly started to make noise again, only louder this time. He whined, pulling on the black thing as he tried to tell it that the noise inside him was bothering him.

"Hungry?" Night Shift asked as Freeze Blade kept 'talking' to him. "…well, I guess it is time to eat something." Shifting his hold on the toddler, he turned to head out, pausing only slightly to gaze over at Stink Bomb, who was still out cold on the bed. "…maybe I strangled him a bit too hard last night." He mumbled, closing the door behind him to let the skunk sleep some more.

* * *

Freeze Blade was quiet a happy baby at the moment as he was feed another spoonful of milk. For starters, it wasn't hard for him to put it in his mouth, even if it was kinda hard on his gums thanks to the cold hard steel of the spoon. And the empty feeling in him was going away. For now, he was contempt, drinking the milk he was fed as he sat on his place on the sofa.

As for Night Shift, he was pretty surprised at the kit for being this quiet so far. He didn't fuse, or squirm, or refuse to be spoon-fed. No, he just opened his mouth wide and let Night Shift put the spoon in his mouth and closed it, drinking the milk like a good behaved boy. "Not in a fighting mood today? Good. It better stay that way." He pulled the spoon out of the toddler's mouth, scooping up another spoonful of milk from the bowl next to him. He wasn't going to get himself filthy like Wash Buckler did when he saw the result of feeding the kit. No, he thought of an alternative. And so far, it worked.

After a couple of spoonful's, Freeze Blade had his fill, sighing contently. "Done already? My, even your intake of food has shrunk more than your size." Night Shift commented, placing the spoon down and patted the kit gently on the back a couple times. "Even your personality has changed."

"Urp!"

His glove recoiled away, raising an eyebrow at the kit. "Or…not."

Freeze Blade cooed, smiling happily as he grabbed his feet and started to rock his body, giggling all the while.

Night Shift watched the kit, keeping an eye on him in case the little guy fell off the sofa and he needed to spring into action. "…you know, things are going to be a tiny bit different around here thanks to your state. The others took your condition well…actually, they took it better than what I would of expected from them." He reached out with one gloved hand, placing it on top of baby Freeze Blades head. "But, I must admit, this is certainly something that could be the toughest challenge for all of us yet. None of us really know how to take care of you in this state. But I doubt that would stop us."

The little kit on babbled in response as he grabbed the black things black hand, though he didn't quite understand what the black thing was saying and started to wonder where his squirmy thing went again.

Night Shift, tough and mean and grumpy as he can be, smiled. It was small, smaller than his love for boxing, but it was still a smile. Not many things could get him to smile, and it was rarer to even see him smile. "Alright, I must admit. I like you more like this."

Freeze Blade cooed, hiding his face in Night Shifts gloved hand.

* * *

A little after the morning had begun, Skylanders started to awoke and get up and start the day. Even if some of them didn't want to wake up yet.

Wash Buckler had half of mind to complain. His room was once again occupied by his teammates, going over the current problem that was on their hands. His gaze went over to Grilla Drilla. The Life swapper currently had the toddler in his care, poking his belly and making faces which made the babyfied cat sequel and laugh in delight. Turns out, the gorilla had a good amount of knowledge in caring for young kids, especially young toddlers. It was probably the best option to let the gorilla to care for the tot at the moment.

His attention shifted over to the small huddle at the far end of the room containing Spy Rise, Rattle Shake, Night Shift, Free Ranger, Blast Zone, Rubble Rouser, and Doom Stone, talking over the situation of their problem. Spy Rise was doing most of the talking with Rubble Rouser and Blast Zone cutting in a few times as well. But Wash Buckler's main focus went over to the more…mischievous of the team. Trap Shadow was currently in a sour mood, clearly not enjoying being awoken from his nap this morning and gave everyone who came near him the death glare. Fire Kraken was discussing something with Boom Jet and Hoot Loop that Wash Buckler couldn't quite hear from his distance away from them. Whatever they were talking about, it couldn't be good. Magna Charge was currently hitting his head against the wall, still trying to get use to the fact that his racing buddy was a baby and absolutely could _**not**_ race him for the time being. The sea captain pitied the robot. Then there was Stink Bomb. Poor skunk stayed as far away from Night Shift as possible without getting too close to the babyfied teammate. Wash Buckler didn't need any hints to tell him what happened last night between the two.

"So by theory, I should be able to revert him back quite easily in a few weeks. I just need the right materiel to do so." Spy Rise concluded. "Is there anything else we should note?"

"Well." Rubble Rouser swung his hammer onto his shoulder. "How about we plan on caring for the kid till we can fix him? We can't just ignore him now in his state."

"You're right. But besides Grilla Drilla, none of us really have any clue in child care." Spy Rise sighed, holding one side of his head as he watched the said gorilla lift the kitten in the air, making the tike burst into a giggling fit. "We don't have the knowledge, martial, or proper care. And what's worse, we'll be needed on missions and such so it'll get in the way of caring for him."

"Why not just tell the others then?" Rattle Shake suggested, taking his hat off and dust it. "It would be easier for all of us then."

Blast Zone nodded. "And maybe some of the other Skylanders know how to take care of a toddler."

Spy Rise shook his head. "I agree with you, but we can tell _all_ of them. If word got out of Freeze Blade being a baby, it might reach enemy ears, or worse. Kaos." He brought a finger close to his mouth, biting at it tentatively. The thought of Skylands worst enemy gaining knowledge of the vulnerability that his teammate was in, he could easily crush the defenseless child with ease, or use him against the other Skylanders as bait for a trap, or even worser scenario that could endanger the kit. Not a settling thought.

The swappers silently agreed to the Tech's concern. None wanted their youngest teammate to be held captive as he was now by the hands of the dark portal master.

"…hnnn. We will have to tell them about this. Sooner or later they will get suspicious of our actions." Night Shift pointed out, crossing his arms.

Doom Stone nodded. "The more hands to help out the better."

"Well, the more hands that are actually going to be helpful." Free Ranger glanced at the three trouble makers whispering amongst themselves, not noticing that they were being watched as they glanced at Freeze Blade time to time with devious grins apparent on their faces.

"Too true." Spy Rise sighed. "Alright, I think it would be best to let Spyro know of this, agree?" Collective murmurs and nods answered his question. "Fine, we'll tell Spyro—"

Before Spy Rise could finish that sentence or before anyone could notice and react in time, Hoot Loop took out his magic wand, twirling around in his taloned hand before raising it up in the air and shouting. " **MAGIC-CA-DABRA!** "

Five seconds after he shouted those words, all Wash Buckler could see was white, sticky, glop. "Hey! What the—?! HOOT LOOP!" He shouted, trying to get the sticky substance off his face. Collective sounds of shock, disgust, and complaints rang in the room, along with a few unclean words. "Dude! This ain't funny!"

"Don't worry! It's not harmful! It's only temporary!" Hoot Loop called out between his giggling fit.

" **THIS IS NOT FUNNY YOU OVERSIZE CHICKEN! REMOVE THIS STUFF BEFORE I REMOVE YOU FROM LIFE!** "

For once, Wash Buckler was actually happy to hear Night Shift make a death threat to their teammate.

"Good luck trying to do that while blind!" Boom Jet shouted before bursting into a laughing fit.

"Don't worry! Only me, Jet, and Loop didn't get blinded!" Fire Kraken shouted. "We'll be going now! Bye!"

"Fire Kraken, you stay right there!" Spy Rise commanded. "You are in the worst of trouble when I get my hands on you!"

"Hoot Loop usted pájaro loco!" Rattle Shake cursed in his native tongue.

Doom Stone sighed. "Why me?"

Night Shift seethed in rage, rubbing the sticky goo as hard as possible, when a thought occurred to him. "Grilla Drilla! Is Freeze Blade alright?"

No answer came.

"Grilla Drilla!"

Nothing. Night Shift received no reply from the Life swapper. Getting no response from him, Night Shift rubbed harder at the goop.

Spy Rise, also noticing the gorilla's silence, got a clear good idea what happened. Gritting his teeth, he started to pull at the glop over his eyes. "Those three better not have—!"

* * *

"WE GOT THE BABY!" The trio cheered as Fire Kraken danced on one foot while holding the five month old high up in the air.

Freeze Blade's eyes were wide in confusion, trying to understand what happened. One second he was having funny with the big friendly hairy thing, the next was the hairy thing falling over and he was suddenly taken away from it and now in the yellow jumpy things hands again with a blue floating thing and the puffy looking thing following after the yellow thing, making these weird noises. He knew the yellow thing was bad, and though he wasn't sure of it, the blue and puffy things were sure to be bad too. He whimpered, folding his ears over his head. He didn't want these things! He wanted the different blue thing! Or the soft purple thing! Or the smelly thing! He even wanted the black thing the most! Any of them other than these things!

The trio laughed as the run/flew/floated by other Skylanders, who gave the trio odd looks as they passed by. They made their way to the front doors, rounding to the right and bounded down the stairs. Once they passed the final step, they cheered one more time before settling down their level of snickering.

"Oh Eon, that was awesome!" Boom Jet said, wiping a tear away. "Did you see their faces? Total Gold!"

"Yeah! That was an awesome trick you did back there Hoot!" Fire Kraken patted the owl on the back. "Thanks to you, we got the baby!" He squealed, holding the toddler up in the air again as he spun around.

Hoot Loop smirked, puffing out his chest in pride. "Why thank you. I've worked quite hard on that trick to perfection."

"I'll say! It'll take hours before they can get that stuff off!" Boom Jet hovered over to the owl, his smile taking more than half of his face. "Plenty of time to have fun with the kid!"

"Indeed! Oh what fun shall we have with him?" Hoot Loop rubbed his talons together. "Scary someone? Pull a prank? Pretend to be hobos and use him as a way to earn money from passers?"

"Oh! Maybe skydiving! Or-or painting the side of the academy! Or! Releasing some Chompies that we dressed up!"

"O! O! Maybe even turn Cynder pink!"

"Or tell Spotlight that Blackout _looooves_ her!"

"Or put birdseed all over Tree Rex while he's asleep!"

"Uh, guys?"

"O-or maybe prank call Gulmshanks!"

"Guys?"

"Or put something nasty in Dr. Krankcase's food!"

"Guuuys?"

"Or read Roller Brawl's secret diary!"

Hoot Loop gasped. "Oh! That is—"

"GUYS!"

The duo paused in their scheming, looking over at the smiledon. Only, he wasn't smiling. He wasn't doing anything except standing their holding the five month old in his hands looking…sad. Their exchanged quick glances to each other, they floated/teleport over to their friend.

"What's the matter bud?" Boom Jet asked once he was over at Fire Krakens side. He didn't receive any answer from him, so he looked over at Hoot Loop. To his surprise, the owls eyes had grown bigger with tears starting to brim in them, staring at something Boom Jet didn't see. Raising an eye brow, he turned his eyes to the direction they were looking at…and a stake went straight through his heart.

Freeze Blade was…well, how well can someone put this in a manner that someone can describe? Well, he looked like a lost puppy, stranded on the street having nothing to eat for days on end as the cold hard rain came down on it with nowhere to seek shelter, living without a warm home, a kind family, a full happy belly, or the love and care that it was denied for so long that it couldn't even remember what love was even like to begin with in the first place. Like all the joy, happiness, and fun had all drained away forever, and left a lifeless shell with nothing but cold memories of the hard days it lived through and through again and again and again. To sum it all up…Freeze Blade had the saddest looking face that the swappers had ever seen in their lives. His ears were hanging against his head, drooping as the hung in a sullen sad manner. His covered eyes were big and quivering, tears brimmed and threatened fall. His nose was starting to drip snot, sniffing as he breathed in and out. His lips quivered as the bottom lip jutted out.

Freeze Blade was adorably cute. And to add to the cute sadness, he let out the tiniest mew he could muster.

"Aaaaaaawwwwwwwwww." The three adult, -if you could call them that-, swappers felt their heart strings being tugged.

"He…h-h-he…h-he looks so…s-s-so sad!" Hoot Loop sniffed, wiping a fallen tear away from his eyes.

"Y-yeah." Fire Kraken agreed, all his happiness was sucked right out of him that not even his tail was thumping and laid dead on the ground.

"…jess, I sure feel like bad guy now." He couldn't deny it, he just couldn't. Boom Jet had never felt so sad and so bad at the same time in all his life.

"…what should we do?"

"Well…" Boom Jet rubbed his head. What _should_ they do? Giving Freeze Blade back to the team sounded like an option, but he doubted that they would forgive them for their little 'prank'. "…maybe we sho—"

 **"** ** _WHERE ARE YOU YOU POOR EXCUSES OF A SKYLANDER?! COME OUT SO I CAN RIP YOUR SOULS OUT AND POUND YOUR BODIES TO OBLIVION!_** **"**

All three faces fell and their bodies turned pure white while their eyes grew big but their iris's shrunk.

"…Hoot?"

"…yes Kraken?"

"…is that who I hope it isn't?"

"…I'm afraid it is."

The three swappers trembled in fear, no, terror as distant sounds of doors being torn off their hinges echoed through the building, getting only louder and louder each passing minute. Freeze Blade blinked, tilting his head a bit as he sniffled. Why did the things suddenly look so scared?

Simultaneously, the three swappers turned, taking only one step forward before the front doors were suddenly thrown, or more pacifically, _punched_ off their hinges and flew far in the air before landing hard on the ground and breaking into pieces. Emerging out of the building, any nearby Skylanders, Mabu, or creatures took cover as Night Shift, with a dark aura all around him, glanced around slowly, heaving in deep breaths that did nothing to quell his anger. His eyes were filled with rage that could not be measured and his body shook with fury.

The trio, well aware that their lives were at stake, carefully and silently tried to sneak away.

Key word.

Tried.

Unfortunately for them, without the sneak ability from Trap Shadow or Stink Bomb, they were spotted right away.

 **"** ** _AHA! THERE YOU ARE!_** **"**

They screamed, breaking out into a run as the vampire gave chase to them. As they rounded a corner, Fire Kraken noticed the bushes lined against the wall of the academy. Fearing for his life and not wanting to die today by the vampires fury, Fire Kraken tossed the kit into the bushes just moments before Night Shift rounded the corner before he could jump in himself. Screaming, he ran as fast as his legs could go with Night Shift hot on his tail, shouting threats and curses at the trio.

With Freeze Blade, the tot, unharmed and well, blinked back tears, gazing around his surroundings as the bushes branches held him a bit high off the ground and, sadly, upside down. He whined as he struggled to get out of the branches grip, succeeding but with a short lived victory as he fell to the ground. Tears started to run down his face. He choked on the air, ready to let out a loud wail of pain.

"Night Shift! Don't kill them!"

Freeze Blade paused in his crying, recognizing the sound. Looking up through the branches, the nice blue thing came into his view. It stopped and made a loud noise.

"Night Shift! Stop! Don't hurt them dude!"

"And why shouldn't he? They deserve every punch he throws at them!"

The hard thing came into his view as well, and for once, he was actually _happy_ to see the hard thing!

"Their actions are completely unforgivable! I still have goop on me!"

"So?!"

"So I don't care for their safety!"

"But don't you care that Night Shift might accidentally hurt Freeze Blade trying to hurt them?!"

Spy Rise looked at Wash Buckler confused, then it slowly dawned on him that his leader was actually right. "…NIGHT SHIFT! HOLD UP! DON'T HURT THEM!"

Freeze Blade watched as the hard and nice blue things went away from him. "Ba? Baba?" He called out, though his tiny voice didn't reach his teammates. They were just too far away to hear him. "Ba! Babababa!" His tears and snot coated his face as his tiny hands reached out for the things. Why weren't they coming to get him? Were they…abandoning him? The thought of loneliness ate away at his brain as he started to cry. No no **no**! They couldn't be abandoning him! They just couldn't abandon him! Why would they be abandoning him?! What did he do wrong?!

His cries rang out through the air, though no one came to him. He cried louder, and louder, and louder. But no matter how loud or how long he cried, not a one single soul came to his call. After ten minutes of long crying, he finally quieted down, hiccuping while wiping his tiny hands over his face. Why?! Why was he abandoned?! What did he do wrong to be abandoned like this?! Getting a second wind, he cried out again, feeling alone and rejected as new fresh tears ran down his face and into the ground he laid on. He didn't want to be all alone! He wanted to be loved! He wanted someone to find him! Anyone! Just anyone to come and get him!

Suddenly, the bushes started to rustle. But the kit didn't notice. He was crying out his heart's content that he was sure no one was hearing. But unknown to him, someone actually did hear him. The branches started to part ways, clearing them away.

"Hello? Little one? Are you there?" A kind voice called out softly. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of there. Just hold on a moment."

Suddenly realizing that the branches were moving, Freeze Blade went still. As more branches were pulled away, a dark shape entered his line of vision, one that he didn't know.

"Well hello there little one."

* * *

 **DUN DUN DAAAAAAA! Who could the mysterious person be?! Will Night Shift kill the trio?! Will they get away?! Will anyone realize that the baby teammate is missing?! Is anyone going to tell Spyro of Freeze Blade's condition?! Is Justin Bieber one of the worst singers in history?!  
**

 **Find out next week! Leave your thoughts in the reviews and leave ideas for this story to continue!**


	4. Momma Griffin

_LiteFox: Night Shift is like a grumpy grandpa, isn't he? He really cares for the toddler that much, doesn't he? And, tell me, when did everyone get cute? Hoot Loop is a natural prankster. It's proof in the short clip called cards for the SWAP Force trailers. Told you your heart strings would be pulled in the last chapter. You had some good guesses, but sad to say that they're all wrong._

 _VictorianWriting: Do you need a hug?_

 _Guest:_ _…I have no clue to how to respond to that.  
_

 _Leave ideas on what you would like for a chapter in the reviews! I need ideas that could work for this story and if you want to see more baby Freeze Blade!_

* * *

 _Magic. What was it really? An unnatural form of mater? A unique special gift from above? A strange ability to ones will? Or was it a way to understand things around us that we just can't seem to grasp onto? Is it a way to learn or teach in methods to help one another? Or maybe it was a talent that someone trained days on end to gain such ability? Is it not strange yet filling at the same time? Is it not something that few yearn to comprehend and make an understanding of their own? Could it be that we few who are lucky to have such skill and power have the ability to craft and create our own paths that we have yet to set in our course of life? Or maybe it's something else? Something we don't understand or grasp. Something that is just out of our reach, and we could barely even touch it's—Wait, where am I even going with this? This has nothing to do with the story! Back to the main point!_

* * *

Up on one of the academy's towers, a lone figure was laid sprawled out on the roof, bathing in the mid-morning sun. The figure was in shape of a dragon. A dark purple dragon, with thick stainless metal bands on her forelegs and on her neck. White marking were adorned on her forehead as horns probed out from the back sides of her head. The dragon was none other than Cynder, taking in the sunshine as she slept.

Normally, she would be taking her time training, but as of right now, she found this day to be slow. So she took her time relaxing, a rarity for her to do so. At the moment, she was at ease. With nothing to worry about or anything to do, she could kick back and relax for the time being. And she would have continued to enjoy her relaxation if she hadn't been rudely awoken.

Lazily, she opened one teal blue eye. She could clearly hear some commotion down below. Most of it sounding like shouts, screams, and curses alike. Her eye rolled and the eyelid shut. Another typical routine amongst the Skylanders. No time for relaxation or worry free, just roughhouse and mayhem. Nothing to worry about that required her assistance.

"Cynder? Hey, Cynder."

She didn't bother to open her eye when she heard her name being called or the sound of flapping wings. "What is it Sypro? Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep?"

"I can see that. But this isn't the time to be sleeping. I need your help."

"Oh really? Well, I'm sadly too tired to do anything right now, so why not come back later?"

"Cyn, this is serious."

"And so is sleeping. You may not notice it Spyro, but most of us need to rest up after a long day. Some of the Skylanders don't get any rest for days, and I for one don't want to be one of them."

"But Cynder! It's serious!"

Opening one eye, Cynder glared at the purple dragon flying in front of her. "And what would that be? Kaos? Gerbles? Chompies?"

"Night Shift."

Her other eye opened, lifting her head. "Night Shift?"

"Night Shift."

"Isn't he one of those swap guys?"

"Yes. And he's destroying half of the place right now!"

Cynder blinked, looking out over the tower. Sure enough, her eyes caught sight of the vampire boxer chasing after the smiledon, owl, and the stunt devil. A few time the boxer would get in punching rang of the trio and swing at them, landing a few hits on one of them but miss a few times and punch the building instead, making big holes in the wake. Not far from the four, the squid and four legged robot was chasing after them, calling out to the vampire to stop, and failing miserably at their job.

"…well, I guess it _is_ serious then."

* * *

Curious eyes blinked as the wind blew past him, drying up the tear stains on his face. White fluffy things were going by. Freeze Blade was quiet curious. What were the fluffy things? Where was he going?

He didn't have an answer for the white fluffy things, but his answer in where he was going was quickly shown. It was a small island, big enough to support a little two story high home which was already on there. A small backyard poked out in the back of the building. His eyes widen as he was suddenly descending downwards before jerking up slightly and softly placed down on the ground. Twisting his head, he looked up at the new thing. Black. This new thing was black all over. Black there, and there, and there, and the-well, that part actually looked green.

Sonic Boom smiled down at the kit as the toddler looked her over. "Curious little one, aren't you? Well don't worry. Sonic Bomb is going to take care of you till the whole chaos back at the academy dies down and I can get you back to your team." She smiled, leaning her head down to the tot's eye level. "But first we've got to get you out of those clothes dear." She poked the tot's tummy, making him giggle a bit. "They're not really proper cloth wear for you." She took a quick whiff of the air and smiling. "And probably a bath at that." Carefully, she grabbed the toddler by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up with her beak. Opening the door with her free fore paw, she stepped inside her cozy little home, closing the door behind her with her tail.

Freeze Blade cooed as he was placed down on the ground, looking around the new area he was in. Smiling, he crawled around. This was exciting! He never got a chance to go explore anywhere before!

Sonic Boom smiled at herself as she kept an eye on the little one as he explored. The poor thing looked so sad when she found him all alone crying. It was luck that she just happened to hear him, otherwise who-knows-what could of happened to him. Making sure that the tiny kitten was in her line of sight, she headed to one end of the house, which was consisted as the kitchen. Opening up a pantry, she grabbed a wooden handle and pulled out a small empty tub. Pulling it along with her, she reentered the room she left the tot in, smiling fondly when she caught sight of the toddler trying to crawl up a step of stairs. "And where do you think you're going?" She asked in a playful tone.

Tiny ears on his head pointed upwards. Giggling, Freeze Blade tried to lift one chubby leg up onto the step, proving to be a difficulty as his brain didn't have the mature coordination his older brain had. After a few tries, he was successfully able to get his little foot up on the step. Growing confident in the task, he tried to pull the rest of himself up before something grabbed him from behind at the scuff of his neck and lifted him up again. Babbling in protest, he soon found himself in a different place.

After placing the kit down in the empty tub, Sonic Boom proceeded in carefully taking the shirt off him. With little bit of difficulty, she managed to pry the shirt off the kit, frowning at the leaf and twig covered handmade fabric. "Tsk, tsk. This is no doubt Stink Bomb's handy work." She examined the little shirt, finding the sewn lines neat, tidy, and most importantly small. Something that only the skunk would craft. It was quite a talent, yes, but it had a few…flaws. The ends of the fabric for starters weren't folded and sewn in like they were supposed to be, the sleeve lines were too high, and the neck line was a bit too small for the head to go through all the way and would snug the neck uncomfortably. Typical. Even the costumes he made for that one play by those Mabu children were just a tad better than this.

Shaking her head and tossing the fabric aside, she turned her focus back on the toddler, giggling at the sight behold her. The tiny five month old had half of his body over the tubs railing, trying to bring his other half with him in an attempt to escape and explore more of his surroundings. Plus, he wanted to get back to his other things. Abandoned or not, he still wanted them.

"And where do you think you might be going?" Sonic Boom cooed at the child, picking him up again and setting him back in the tub.

Freeze Blade whined. Not again! He wanted out!

"Oh, I'm sorry Freeze Blade. But you can leave just as soon as I get you cleaned and freshen up." She patted his head, smiling warmly down at him.

Freeze Blade, suddenly liking the attention he was getting, laughed, grabbing the new black thing gleefully. Okay, forget the other things for now. This thing seemed to be more fun right now!

Sonic Boom laughed as the tot cuddled her fore paw. "Quite the cuddler, aren't you?" She nudged his face a bit with her beak, getting a smile out of the toddler. "Well, you're going to have to let me go for a bit while I get the bath water ready."

The smile on the tots face vanished instantly. Bath?

* * *

Boring. Boring. Boring. Booooring. Boring. Boooorrrrrring. Boring…bbbbbbbboooooorrrrrrrnnnnniiiiiinnnnnng.

Yep. It was official. The whole thing was boring. The travel, the trip, everything about it was boring! Why had she ever agreed to coming along on the trip in the first place anyway? It was nothing like Stealth Elf had described! Completely! Nothing! No action, or games, or extreme sports of the sort that she was promised! Just a ten day trip to a sap and relaxation place that she got tricked into coming along with because it was free for girls for ten days or something! UN-Believable!

Sighing, her eyes gazed out over Skyland, watching the clouds and floating islands go by, trying to take her mind off of the whole thing. It wasn't so bad. She did get to enjoy a bit of relaxation. But she was still mad that there were no extreme sports or anything. Dame that elf and hybrid dragon for tricking her into coming along. Casting a glare over her shoulder, the _elf_ and _hybrid dragon_ were currently having a conversation with each other. On other days, she would have joined them, but as for now, she didn't dare acknowledge their existence. She was not going to let this slide so easily.

Eyes back on the passing sky, she wondered how things at the academy were going. Possibly something crazy going down right about now. Trigger Happy would probably be on some sugar rush and shooting at everything he saw. Slobber Tooth could of eaten half of an important statue that was suppose to be guarded. Something exploding or mayhem was assured to have happened while she was away. And the SWAP Force was sure to be causing some sort of trouble like they always seem to do on a daily basis, even if it was by mistake.

"Hey Roller Brawl! Whatcha thinking over there?"

She was snapped away from her thoughts, growling under her voice. Footsteps approached her from behind till Stealth Elf and Whirlwind were right beside her.

"Thinking about something? You usually skate around the deck for a while right about now." Whirlwind asked, looking out at the horizon. "What's on your mind?"

She huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Nothing."

"Really? Are you sure about that? Cause you look like you're thinking about something."

Her eyes turned to the hybrid, glaring hard at her. "I'm not thinking of anything!"

"Leave her be Whirl. She's probably still mad at us for dragging her along."

Roller Brawl glared at the elf next. "You think?"

"Oh come on Brawly! You needed to have some fun time!" Whirlwind got her top half on top of the vampire. "There's no need to get grumpy like Night Shift on a bad day!"

"Get off me!" Roller Brawl shoved the hybrid off her. "And I'm not grumpy!"

"You sure about that?" Stealth Elf asked with a slight sound of amusement in her tone.

"Yes!" Roller Brawl snapped, baring her fangs.

"Well I'm sure that whatever is on your mind, _Freeze Blade_ wouldn't mind helping you getting your mind off of it once we get back."

Oh no. She just had to say it. Her key word. Her ultimate weakness. Her rage slowly settled down as her eyes glazed over with a dreamy look in them.

Freeze Blade. Her lover and boyfriend. Oh how he made her feel so happy. It was a wonder how they bonded over that one karaoke night that started their whole relationship. Still, it made her happy to have someone in her life who she could love and understand who did the same for her.

"…s-shut up."

Stealth Elf smiled behind her mask.

"Hey! I see the academy!" Whirlwind pointed out.

A smile appeared on her face. With any luck, she could spend the day with Freeze Blade like he promised to her, and there was no way he would ever break a promise to her.

"We're hooooooommmmmmmme!" Whirlwind shouted, jumping off the ship and taking off. Roller Brawl and Stealth Elf followed after her, feeling good to be back at the academy. Looking around, everything seemed to be normal. "HEY GUYS! SOME OF THE SWAP FORCE GUYS ARE KILLING EACH OTHER!" Almost normal.

Heading over to their friend, they got full view of the chaos. Night Shift was strangling Fire Kraken with one glove as Spy Rise was holding the other glove as he shouted at the vampire to yield. Wash Buckler was currently having an argument war with Grilla Drilla as Boom Jet and Hoot Loop coward behind their leader. Yep. Typical day today. Roller Brawl could only guess that the three had done something to set the others off somehow.

" **I'M GOING TO TEAR YOUR INSIDES AND MAKE THEM INTO OUTSIDES!** "

"NIGHT SHIFT, PLEASE! RETHINK ABOUT THIS! I DON'T WANT A DEAD TEAMMATE ON MY HANDS!"

"MOVE ASIDE SQUID! I'M GONNA POUND THOSE TWO TO OBLIVION!"

"Okay, first off, I'm an octopus dude. Second off you beat these guys later after Night Shift does or calms down first!"

" **DEAD MEAT! THAT'S ALL YOU'LL EVER AMOUNT TO! DEAD! MEAT!** "

"ACK AK! GACK KACK! AANCK AAAAAC!"

"SERIOUSLY NIGHT SHIFT! THIS IS NOT THE BEST TIME TO BE CHOKING SOMEONE WHO'S _ON YOUR TEAM_!"

"I HAVE HALF OF MIND TO TEAR THOSE LEGS OF YOURS OFF IF YOU DON'T MOVE SQUID!"

"OCTOPUS! I'M AN OCTOPUS!"

"THEN WHY DO YOU ONLY HAVE SIX LEGS?!"

"EIGHT! I HAVE ALL EIGHT DUDE!"

"ARMS DON'T COUNT WASH BUCKLER!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS SPIDER!"

Roller Brawl smiled, shaking her head. Same old SWAP Force where ever they go.

"Alright, alright! Break it off guys! That's enough!" Spyro shouted, landing in the middle of the fiasco. "This little game has gone too long and needs to stop. Now." Of course the dragons voice was drowned out by the screaming and threats amongst the team. Shaking his head, he lifted one paw up, giving the thumbs up.

Above him, Cynder hovered above the group. Spotting the thumbs up from Spyro, an evil grin creped on her face. Drawing back her head, taking a large intake of air, she threw her head downwards at a shooting bullets pace, opening her maw wide and releasing high voltage of bright purple electricity. Spyro jumped out of the way as the SWAP members were hit dead on, sending volts of lighting through their systems. Watchers cringed at the sight.

Soon, the electricity stopped, leaving behind crisp burnt Skylanders in place. Nodding his head in satisfactory, Spyro glanced at each swap Skylander. "Now what is going on here that got you all riled up so much?"

Spy Rise, being a bot of the Tech element, recovered from the unsuspected shock first. "Well, as you can see, these three have sort of got on their nerves—"

" _i'll kill this crock!_ " Night Shift hoarsely whispered, amazingly still having a tight hold around Fire Kraken's neck.

"…mooore so on Night Shift's case than Grilla Drilla's." Spy Rise noted, creeping up to Fire Kraken and pry the vampires hold off him. "But nothing that couldn't be handled…badly."

"And just what did they do to set them off so bad?"

Spy Rise's eyes widen, looking anywhere but the purple dragon. He had really hoped he wouldn't be asked that. He couldn't just tell the Skylander what had happened without telling him of the situation they were facing. Especially since other Skylanders were around. "Uh, it's a long story."

Spyro was about to say something, but was cut off by Fire Kraken springing up, shaking himself like a dog. "WOW! What a rush! If I knew it was going to be this much fun stealing the baby I would have done it s-MERPPPH!" Spy Rise laughed nervously as he clamped Fire Krakens mouth shut, smiling uneasily at the purple dragon.

"…baby?"

The spy thought back to his argument with Wash Buckler on the sweating thing, thinking how if he had flesh, rivers of sweat would be coming out of it. "B-baby? Wh-what b-baby? There's no b-baby!"

"…Spy Rise."

"…y-yes? S-spyro?"

"What. Baby?"

He kept smiling before sighing, slumping in defeat. "…well, as I said it's a long story…buuuut."

* * *

"BAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" Freeze Blade bursted out in laughter, splashing the lukewarm water with his hands, splaying soppy water everywhere. This was fun! To an energetic child of course.

"Ah ah ah. Don't splash all the water out dear."

The tiny kit turned his head to the strange sound, giggling up at the black thing.

Sonic Boom smiled down at him. At first, the kitten didn't seem to want to cooperate in taking a bath, but now he was having the time of him life. Getting the pants and the 'dipper' off him was simple, but when it came to the mask that was where the trouble really showed its worse. No matter how she hard tried to take it off, she was met with full resistance from the toddler. Hisses, clawing, little hard nips, screams and whines all that accompanied with an angry look from the cat.

She sighed as more of the mask got wet. Honestly, why wear such a silly thing? It didn't even fit his face. But, if it made him happy enough to cooperate, so be it. Taking a clean rag and wetting it, she proceeded in resuming her cleaning duty, almost dropping the rag in a giggling fit when the five month old started to 'sing' as she washed his back. Oh she was not going to let this slip from her mind any time soon.

After getting the tike cleaned and wrapped in a towel to dry, she carried the toddler up to the second floor, placing him down on a sunny spot on the floor. Cooing, he watched the black thing walk away from him and go somewhere. He giggled again as some of the towel on his head flopped over his face. Shaking the fabric off his face, mewing slightly, he blinked in surprise, staring at something that stared back at him. Actually, more something's were staring at him. They all looked like the black thing, but they were smaller that it.

He blinked, tilting his head to one side. Then the new something's blinked, tilting their heads to one side. His ears pointed up as he straightened his head, which the new things copied. Blinking, he raised one arm in the air as high as he could go. The new things copied his movement. He blinked again, then a grin spread out across his entire face. He started doing other movements with his body which the new things copied. His fun was cut short when the bigger black thing came back and picked him up again.

"Having fun with my kids Freeze Blade?" She asked, heading towards her nest with her four griffinlings following after her. She giggled as she placed the toddler down next to the items she picked out.

The tiny tot blinked, looking over the thing next to him. These things were white looking, and one of they smelled funny when he sniffed it. Not bad funny, but still funny. The black thing picked him up and took the towel off him, putting the funny smelling white thing on him. It wasn't so bad but it did hug a bit. The next moment after that, he found himself wearing the white thing all over his body. Cooing, he looked over himself. The only things that weren't white were his hands and his head and WHERE WERE HIS FEET?!

The baby babbled as he grabbed the ends of his legs, looking up at the black thing to try and tell it that his feet were gone.

Sonic Boom smiled down at her work. She was glad that she kept some necessities in her closet just in case she needed them. The one piece white baby clothes fit the tot quite perfectly, and it was a good thing she kept some dippers around. Her thoughts were interrupted by the child's cry of distress. Clearly, the little five month old didn't understand that he still had his feet, even if they were covered by the clothing. Bending her head down to his level, she smiled at him. "What's the matter Freezey?"

Freeze Blade whined, grabbing at the ends and started to hyperventilate.

"Ooh, ssh, it's alright. It's okay. There's no need to cry." Carefully, she picked up the tot, cradling him in her arms and slowly began to sway back and forth, humming softly.

Freeze Blade blinked back the tears in his eyes, staring up at the black thing intently as he listened to the noise it made. Something about the noise made him feel…relaxed. Being held this way by the thing, it felt safe and secure. The gentle movement slowed his worries and melted them away.

Sonic Boom was confident that her tactic worked when she heard him coo. Nodding her head, she carefully placed the toddler on her back and headed for the stairs. "Now let's get something in the belly of yours." As if on que, the toddler's stomach started to rumble.

The baby babbled in confusion. Why was it making that noise? And why did he feel all empty inside whenever it made that noise? It didn't matter. Right now, he was getting a free ride! Though, something at the back of his mind poked at his brain. Something he couldn't quite put his thumb on it. Something…black and thingy.

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOT THERE?! THIS IS WHERE YOU TOSSED HIM IN RIGHT?!"_**

Fire Kraken cowered in fear, hiding behind his tail that did little in protecting him from his teammates rage, or more so vaguely, the vampires rage. He partly understood why they were so angry at him, but they didn't have to yell so loudly at him! Even in the past he never got yelled at this badly.

"Fire Kraken, are you positive that this is where you dropped him at?" Spy Rise asked, trying to keep calm about the situation on hand, despite the day's events. First he had to deal with telling Spyro the whole short explanation of what was going on and explaining it to the freaked out Roller Brawl of her boyfriend's state, then he learned that the babyfied teammate wasn't with the trio thanks to Wash Buckler pointing out the fact –which nearly got the pranksters killed by Night Shift and Grilla Drilla after learning that Fire Kraken had _thrown_ the fragile five month old in some bushes-, and now he was being told that the toddler _wasn't_ where they left him. Oh could this day get **_any_** better?!

"I-I'm positive! This is exactly where I dropped him at!" The smiledon trembled, trying to back further into the wall he was pinned against. "I-I don't know where else he could be! Honest!" He watched the reactions of his friends as the information dug in.

Wash Buckler was pulling his hat as hard as he could down on his head, muttering worriedly to himself as his tentacles subconsciously began to tie themselves together in tight knots. Grilla Drilla's nostrils flared as he tried to calm himself down with deep breaths. It didn't seem to be working in the slightest. Spy Rise seemed to be the only one who didn't look angry, but he did look worried. Not as much worried as Wash Buckler, but he could tell that the spider was worried just by the way he bit at his finger and stared at the ground. Something he did to handle his stress. And Night Shift…he…was… _angry_.

Not the normal angry that he went by everyday as. Oh no. He looked angrier than ever that Fire Kraken had ever seen. His face was scrunched up in the maddest looking face that put others to shame. His eyes screamed fire that promised suffering and pain. The gloves were clenched tight in fists that seemed ready to strike on cue. And his whole body was trembling in rage that hot steam was rolling off him.

Altogether, Night Shift looked like a demon that crawled out from the fiery pit of the deepest, hottest, most active volcano, ready to explode at any given moment.

He whimpered, curling up tighter into a ball. He had never seen the vampire look so angry before.

"Alright, l-let's just think this through. He might of just wandered off somewhere!"

Eyes turned to Boom Jet. He and Hoot Loop stood far from the group. "Y-yeah! That's it! He could of wandered off! He never did like to stay in the same place for too long…right?" He laughed uneasily as Hoot Loop hid behind him when Night Shift's death glare was straight on him.

Wash Buckler, untangling his lower limbs and pulling his hat back up, slowly nodded. "…you're right. He…could have wandered off to some place." His face became hard. "Though, the question is where the little dude could of gone to."

Spy Rise pulled his finger away from his mouth. "That's a lot of possibilities. Though, he shouldn't have gone far from here. His limbs aren't that strong as his older self was."

"Don't underestimate him just yet. He may be small, but he's still Freeze Blade." Wash Buckler pointed out. "Let's look around first in the nearby areas and see if we can't find him."

Mummers of approval followed as the small team headed out. The trouble makers were about to follow when two haunting eyes stopped them in their tracks. Night Shift glared at each swapper, staring long and hard at them. "…you two." He pointed at Boom Jet and Hoot Loop, making them flinch. "And you." Fire Kraken felt he temperature drop when the vampire looked at him.

"…if we don't find him in the next half hour, I'll have a _niiiice_ helping of your blood. Every. Single. Drop of it. Think of it. Your skulls bashed into billions of tiny pieces, your inner guts turned outer, the very existence that you live in gone forever as I laugh at your pitiful, _pitiful_ bodies like a hyena. All because you three lost a toddler. A small, tiny, helpless, defenseless, toddler. Do you like the sound of that?" Heads shook rapidly, earning the satisfactory of the vampire. "Good. Now, **_GO FIND HIM BEFORE I TAKE YOUR VERY LIVES AWAY!_** "

Collective shrieks of fear followed by three brightly colored blurs shot past him. He watched them before a brief minute before sighing, heading off in search of the tiny kitten.

* * *

 **Another chapter done! So far it seems good. Please leave a review on how the next chapter should go and any future possible ideas for further chapters.  
**


	5. The Meeting Room

_VictorianWriting: It's alright, I'm sure no one else knew it was her.  
_

 _LiteFox: Thanks, I tried my best with the interaction between them. Sonic Boom seemed like the best choice for caring baby Freeze Blade. I tried to not make Night Shift's threat the same as yours, so I changed it a little. It is a good threat on your story though._

 _Fangirl1007: Wow! I didn't know you would like this~! Night Shift does seem to be a father figure to Freeze Blade, right? I will keep this up!_

 _I'm soooo sorry for the long wait! It took longer than I though to complete this chapter! I just had no clue on how it should turn out! Please everyone who reads this! I need ideas to help me continue this story, and you're the only one's to help me! Please leave a review to what should happen next so that I can type more about baby Freeze Blade for your entertainment! Any support will boost my motivation to continue, so please! Show your support!_

* * *

Twenty minutes passed by and the search group had no luck in finding their babyfied friend. Each minute that passed by, Boom Jet could practical feel his end drawing nearer and nearer to him. Glancing behind him, he quickly looked away when he saw that Night Shift was right behind him. That explained why he felt death looming over him so much. But it didn't explain why Night Shift seemed to suddenly care for Freeze Blade now. Sure there were a couple of times that the vampire did seem to care, but they were so rare and didn't happen so much too often that it was easy to forget those times.

It was often a wonder what Night Shift really felt about his team. His personality was…questionable. He'd snicker at someone's misfortune but went off somewhere if they got badly hurt and return just the same as ever and acted like nothing had ever happened. Someone weaker than him trying to greet him only got cold stares and an icy silence, but someone stronger than him earned his admiration…before he would beat them to a pulp if they messed with the weaker person. He'd insisted that he would never do something so ridiculous, but somehow he would wind up doing it. But the most questionable aspect about him would probably be his relationship with Freeze Blade. Their friendship was…rocky, if not odd. No one could understand what Freeze Blade saw in Night Shift that made him want to hang out with the vampire so often, and no one could understand why Night Shift let Freeze Blade hang out with him so much despite that it clearly bothered him.

As far back as Boom Jet could remember, when they met for the first time, Freeze Blade had taken an instant liking to the vampire, much to Night Shift's annoyance. So a cycle began, Freeze Blade followed Night Shift around, Night Shift growled at him and told him to get lost, Freeze Blade would still follow him around, Night Shift would get irritated. It went on for days on end till one day they were just standing side by side, Night Shift reading a morning newspaper and Freeze Blade just hanging out with him, arms and legs crossed, looking out at the sky, often pointing out objects that the clouds would shape into while Night Shift hummed in response. No one would ever know what happened between the two, but on that day, they could tell they had developed a mutual respect for one another.

Boom Jet's thoughts were shattered when he felt a cold gust of air breathing at the back of his neck. Slowly turning around, he almost shrieked and jumped out of his skin when he was Night Shift hovering there, glaring down at him that looked like he was ready to kill him or something. Probably was.

"Any luck?"

Boom Jet's body practically shivered on hearing how icy Night Shift's voice sounded. "N-no."

"… _keep looking._ " With that, Night Shift floated off to a different place. Boom Jet patted his chest over and over, trying to calm down his speeding heart. He had plenty experiences that caused his heart to speed up at incredible paces, just by the thrill of the stunt or the thought of it! But now his heart was pounding in fear, fear of what Night Shift would do to him if they didn't find the five month old. And basically, he didn't want to find out.

Eight minutes passed, and there was still no hair or sign of Freeze Blade. They stopped searching when it was clear that the tot wasn't anywhere in the area that they searched. Bad news for them, but more terrible news for the threesome.

They huddled together, far from Night Shift as they would possibly go. Running away wasn't an option this time anymore. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, nowhere to escape the vampires wrath. Wash Buckler stood in the middle, glancing at the trio and at Night Shift's back constantly, worry drawing up on his face. He knew he would have no chance at protecting the three from the boxers wrath, but he had to at least try. It was his duty to keep his team together and keep them safe, no matter how much they deserve pain right now. Night Shift, so far, had been quiet for the longest time. His head was tilled downwards, hiding his emotion in the over shade. Wash Buckler doubted that the vampire was taking it easy.

"He's not taking it well." The leader turned his focus on Spy Rise as the Tech came up to him. "If anything, he looks like he's been defeated in a wrestling match."

Wash Buckler only hummed, pulling end of his mustache down. "You're right about that. How are the others?"

"Drilla already got Magna, Rattle, and Stink out of the goo of a mess." Spy Rise gave Hoot Loop a quick glare, which the owl responded by a small sheepish chuckle and ducking more behind Boom Jet. "Currently, they're having a bit of trouble with Trap Shadow. He's not taking his new prison well and is _voicing_ it quite loudly."

"And Spyro?"

"Still trying to get things under way so the rumors don't spread out before it gets out of hand." He sighed, rubbing a small circle on his templates. " **This** is why I didn't want anyone else to know yet."

"Good thing Spyro's getting it down straight." Wash Buckler chuckled, lightly punching the spy a tad on the shoulder.

"You won't be optimistic when he does get it under control and calls us to a meeting later." Spy Rise pointed out, raising a slight eyebrow when the Meremasquid froze but kept his composure. "After all, I only explained the tip of what happened to him before the others went off with the questions and rumors."

"Don't forget Roller Brawl." Wash Buckler pointed out, acting as if he was never frozen at all, and he knew what it was like to be frozen. Whether if it was Ice Trolls, Water Spellpunks, Ice Golems, or being frozen by Freeze Blade, Chill, or Slam Bam. "She didn't take the news well."

"Don't remind me, _please_." Spy Rise groaned, slumping over. It was bad enough to explain to Spyro the bit of the story, but Roller Brawl was a different story and tale altogether. And basically, he wasn't ready to face the wrath of a girlfriend vampire. He practically prayed for something to happen to save his skin. Nothing came but it didn't need to. Roller Brawl broke down into hysteria and was escorted away by Cynder to her room to calm down. "I rather not—" He was cut short by Wash Buckler raising his hand, signaling him to be quiet. Spy Rise looked at his leader with a raised brow.

The octopus was staring at something, something that put him on edge. This got Spy Rise concerned. If Wash Buckler was on edge, something that never happened to the SWAP leader often, something was up. Then, uncertain but heard it, his head gear picked up a faint sound of…chuckles? Yes, he was sure of it. His spy gear was detecting and picking up faint sounds of someone chuckling. Where it was coming from was the question. It didn't sound like it was coming from behind, or from the sides where his teammates were, so that only left what was in front of him. But no one was in front of his except for…

 _Oooooooooh._

Now he knew why Wash Buckler seemed on edge…and quite frankly, he was get a bit nervous now too.

Those chuckles were emanating from Night Shift's throat. Deep, dark, and quiet as a whisper that gradually grew louder and louder slowly. Spy Rise didn't like the sound of it. Not one bit. But then, he stopped. Spy Rise almost thought he'd imagined the whole thing…till Night Shift turned around and the swappers jumped. The death look on his face, something he could only manage to do. The swappers trembled in fear.

Night Shift glared at them, all sense of anything was gone clean out of him. They lost the kit. They lost a tiny five month old. They lost their friend. They lost Freeze Blade…

They will **_die_**.

Wash Buckler could almost feel himself ready to ink as Night Shift slowly started to make his way towards them. "N-now Night S-S-Shift! B-be reasonab-b-ble! We c-can still l-l-look for him!"

His leaders words didn't reach his ears. No sense of reason was left in the vampire. If anything was left in him, it was pure rage. And he needed to take it out on someone.

Instinctively, the five grabbed and readied their weapons. If they had to fight, they would fight to the very end of their lives…which seemed a possibility at this point. Everyone could admit that they had never gone up against Night Shift like this before, and had no clue of what expect. Closer and closer Night Shift got, the faster and faster their heats started to speed up. Boom Jet could see his own death in the vampires eyes that was void of any traces of the old Night Shift he knew.

Die.

Servos and gears in Spy Rise's body were shaking as he scanned the vampire. This certainly wasn't Night Shift. In fact, it might very well be someone different right now…and he didn't want to risk any chances. Steadying his right arm, aimed at Night Shift's right shoulder, the ammo in his gear switched out and only one barrel was loaded. Spy Rise didn't want to risk hurting his friend, so in the loaded barrel was a fast acting tranquillizer. If he got the shot right, Night Shift would simply fall fast asleep in no time without harm.

Night Shift was almost in front of them.

Die.

Fire Kraken swallowed a lump in his throat, clutching his baton tight in his grip.

 _Die_.

Hoot Loop's eyes shrunk to the size of marbles. Feathers fell off his body as he shook with terror.

 _Die_.

Wash Buckler steadied himself, bracing for any sudden signs of possible attack. Night Shift wasn't in his senses, he had to fight him. If there were other ways than this, he would take them in a heartbeat. But there wasn't any way, his only option was to fight, no matter how much he wished that it was someone other than his friend.

 ** _DI—_**!

A black mass of something landed between them, kicking up dust, separating Night Shift from everyone else. When the dust cleared, standing between them was Sonic Boom, facing at the group and Night Shift behind her with her chicks on her back munching away on cookies. And babyfied Freeze Blade was smushed in between the chicks, happily nooming on his own cookie.

"Excuse me, but I believe this little one belongs to you~" Sonic Boom said in a sing song voice, carefully picking the kitten out from the griffin bunch on her back with her beak and presented the toddler to Wash Buckler.

Wash Buckler's reaction was like a fish out of water. His mouth kept opening and closing, like he was gasping for air. "…uh, thanks?" He carefully took the kit in his hands, never taking his eyes off the tot. Freeze Blade happily teethed on his cookie, softening the hard treat with his drool that eased the hard texture enough for him to chew on it with his soft gums. He was completely unaware that he was placed in Wash Buckler's arms.

Sonic Boom smiled, opening her wings. "I better be off now before my children turn back into eggs. Ta-ta." She took to the sky again, heading off till she was out of sight.

Once she was out of sight, Spy Rise turned his attention to Night Shift. The vampire was frozen in place, eyes locked on the tiny five month old in Wash Buckler's arms. "…Nigh—?" Night Shift vanished, cutting the spy off. He was alerted to where the vampire could be by the sound of Fire Kraken's surprised yelp.

"Whoa! Night Shift! Didn't pop up like that dude! You nearly scared the ink outta me!"

Night Shift paid no heed to Wash Buckler as he looking over the toddler, checking for any injuries or signs of wounds. When he found none, he sighed, backing away from the leader. "Thank Eon…" His glare returned, focusing on the three mischief's.

They backed away uneasy as beads of sweat coated their faces. Was he still going to kill them?

"…consider yourselves lucky…for now." Night Shift growled, taking the young teammate from Wash Buckler as the three sighed in relief, knowing their lives were spared. For now.

Freeze Blade, suddenly realizing that he was being held by the black thing, squealed happily with the mushy cookie still in his mouth, waving his left arm in a happy manor. Boy was he happy to see the black thing! It had been forever since he had last saw it! Gargling, he grabbed as much fabric he could hold in his tiny fingers, pulling on the fabric gleefully.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't pull on the fabric, you'll stretch it out." Night Shift scowled, prying the tiny fingers off his cloths carefully as the tot just giggled.

"Ahem."

Everyone froze. Slowly, they turned around. Spyro stood not too far away from the group, tapping his talons on the ground with the look of disappointment across his face. When his focus turned to Night Shift, his eyes briefly widened when he spotted the kitten in the vampires boxing gloves looking back at him with a cookie stuffed in his mouth. It vanished and was replaced by a more serious look. "The meeting room. Now."

* * *

The meeting room. Wow did that bring back memories. Not a real fancy place that anyone could expect when they thought about what it looked like. Fancy walls that held ancient inscriptions in them? A table that could see every corner of Skylands? Technology that was beyond compare? Floating items of magic? Ptth. None of the sort! The room was big for its size that a giant can stand up to full height in it and still wouldn't be able to reach the top. It was fairly empty room with only a high perch at the far end of it. All fun and games were gone, serious business only resided here, away from anyone that could eavesdrop on a meeting that was not meant to be heard.

Wash Buckler had been here for only a few times in his life, and not once did he ever take matters here as child's play. Every leader in each Skylander group, silly, carefree, or laid back as can be, were pushed deep down and the more mature serious side of them took over when they were here. His slouch was gone and replaced by a straight back with his chest puffed out and arms crossed behind his back. The goofy idiotic look that always plastered itself on his face was torn away, revealing a strict, hard, serious, focused face that only a leader could manage to show. None of his teammates had ever seen him like this. He looked so…strict. He hadn't even said one 'dude' once he entered the room.

Spy Rise had to admit, he was a little surprised that someone like Wash Buckler, a slacky in every way possible, could ever look and be so strict. Not in a slight possibility that he knew. He always doubted that his leader would ever act like a grown up in serious times, but he was proven wrong. But he was even more surprised when he and his teammates were brought here. It was a serious matter if someone who was not a leader was brought to the meeting room. His eyes shifted to his teammates that stood beside him. Most of his teammates anyway. Only the more serious teammates of his team were allowed in. Rubble Rouser, Doom Stone, Blast Zone, Stink Boom, Rattle Shake and himself were allowed in to discuss the situation on hand.

Speaking of the situation.

Not far from the group, the little kitten was seated on a table surrounded by an orb of bright blue magic, ogling at the pretty light spirals and tried to grab at them. He wouldn't succeed as the orb would move away from his hand and bend back into shape once he moved it away. But it wouldn't deteriorate him, much, and he kept trying to grab the swirls. Night Shift hovered close by, watching the five month old in case he fell off the table.

Spyro stood not far at the side of the table, watching the kit. "Well Enigma?"

Enigma, the red cloaked individual, was silent, focused on his task at hand. Spy Rise shivered. Friend or foe, the magic trapper always gave him a bit of the creeps. Enigma was…not really much to figure out. He wasn't really open to others and never took his cloak off no matter what, so no one knew much about him except that he had come from somewhere else not from here. A different dimension, somewhere between the worlds if you will. Spy Rise was both doubtful and slightly curious. He had always wanted to visit a different dimension out of curiosity and study of science, but sadly, he would never get the chance to do so, and Enigma would never return to his home world. The cloaked specter had sealed off the only way to his home to prevent the darkness from entering, keeping the darkness out but in doing so had trapped him here. Forever.

He felt bad for him, but was quickly engrossed on how to figure this individual how where everyone else has failed. Feeling sorry would come later, the first priority for him now was to study, followed, and figure out this being that hid behind the red cloak and crack all the puzzles he was thrown.

"…This is indeed Freeze Blade."

Spy Rise blinked out from his thoughts when Enigma finally spoke. How long had he'd been thinking?

"Not long Spy Rise."

The Tech practically jumped, quickly regaining his composure and glared at the specter. He hated it when he did that. Once or twice, he swore Enigma could read his mind and just said things to tease with him, which got on his nerves.

Spyro, discarding the look Spy Rise was giving Enigma, sighed. "So you guys were telling the truth." His eyes glazed over to them. "How did this happen?"

"From what I was told, he was babyfied by a gun." Night Shift said, picking up Freeze Blade once the magic surrounding him was gone. "But I would like to know how it happened as well."

Spy Rise frowned a bit. He didn't know much of the detail himself.

"It's a long story and the details aren't that good, but we'll try the best that we can tell." Wash Buckler said with a serious face, motioning to Blast Zone, Spy Rise and himself. "The whole mess of it all should start a day back at the beginning, right after Freeze Blade, before the accident, had come to both me and Spy Rise in tears."

* * *

 _~Yesterday~_

The day had started out normal for Wash Buckler. Getting up ripe and ready to start the day out. He skipped breakfast that morning and went about just walking around –if someone with six tentacles for legs can really call it walking— helping around the academy as best he could. It wasn't till later that he ran into Spy Rise, tinkering away on one of his bomb bots on the steps outside.

"Morning Spy!" Wash Buckler greeted, heading over to the Tech. "What cha fiddling away with?"

The spring that Spy Rise was tightening snapped out of place and hit the spy right between his eyes. Growling as he rubbed the area he was hit at, the Tech continued at his task. "Wash Buckler, I'm in no mood to talk right now. Go and bother someone else." He didn't look at the Meremasquid as he talked.

Wash Buckler, being himself, just smiled and sat beside his four legged friend. "Come on buddy! Don't act that way. I just came by to see what you're doing." An instant later, a bomb bot was shoved in his face.

"Bomb bot. Fixing it. Now you know. Good bye." Spy Rise retorted, taking his creation out of Wash Buckler's face and flipped his head gear down and set back to work fixing the bot.

"Oh…okay…so how's your day been going?"

"Fine."

"…do you have any plans for toda—?"

"Fixing this bot then work on other stuff."

"Do you want to h—?"

"No."

"…Or maybe—?"

"No."

"Then how abo—?"

"No."

"Do you even know what I'm about to say before you interrupt me?"

"No, and basically, I don't really care."

"Sheesh. What is with you today Spidy?"

Spy Rise slammed the tool he had been holding down on the step, making Wash Buckler flinch. Slowly, the Tech looked at his leader, pushing his headgear up to glare at the squid. "…Wash Buckler, I have tried to be patient with you today as I am busy with something. But you are just _bugging_ me to the edge." He talked slowly, poking Wash Buckler in the chest. "So would you be sooo kindly as to zip it and let me finish my work in peace." With that, he returned his focus to the droid, bring his head gear down again and went back to work.

"… _sheesh, talk about edgy._ " Wash Buckler huffed under his breath, complying on Spy Rise's wish and stayed quiet as he worked. Not having anything to do, the old sea captain unsheathed his cutlass, inspecting the old weapon. The old weapon had seen many hard times as well as the good day. Its cutting edge was worn and hard trouble cutting things deep. He made a note to sharpen it later. The handle was better off than the blade was. It still held intact and the leather was still in mint condition so it was in no need to be replaced any time soon. The blade gleamed in the light, shining off its stainless metal in the morning sun. Wash Buckler held it out, looking it over for any imperfections. When there was none to be found, he smiled in satisfaction, placing it beside him and took out his piston. He frowned. The old gun needed a polish. Pulling out a handkerchief, he set to work cleaning the old weapon.

"…I've been meaning to ask you something for a while now."

Wash Buckler paused in his work, glancing over to his companion. Spy Rise was looking at him, his headgear put up so he could see the squid better.

"That gun." Spy Rise motioned to the item with the droid in his hands. "And the sword. Where and how did you ever come to obtain them?"

Wash Buckler looked at each weapon. The sword that laid beside him and the gun in his hands. His main and only weapons out in battle. "…well, they were given to me by the captain of the crew that adopted me."

Spy Rise flinched. Wash Buckler hardly talked about his old crew. And why would he? His young life wasn't something that a young child shouldn't have gone through. Abandoned. Alone. Lost. He didn't even recall ever seeing his parent's faces.

Orphaned.

"…oh. I'm sorry for—"

"Don't." The pirate shook his head, casting his head downwards and resumed to clean his weapon. "It's all in the past now. Can't weep forever you know?"

Spy Rise opened his mouth to say something else, but would never get the chance as something slammed into Wash Buckler from behind and sent him flying. The sea captain got a good taste of the ground when he landed face first into it. "Whoa!" Quickly, Spy Rise jumped up, ready and alert. He blinked, unsure if he was seeing things or what he was seeing was real. "…Freeze Blade?"

Freeze Blade, tangled in three of Wash Buckler's legs, laid on the ground with his backside facing the air beside his leader with arms splayed out, staying completely motionless, an impossibility made real.

Uncertain and concerned for him, Spy Rise went over to them, helping Wash Buckler get off the ground. "Freeze Blade, what were you thinking? Were you even paying attention where you were going on your little speed stunt?" He asked, half of it scolding for the cat's childicey. No reply came, worrying the spy more. "Freeze Blade, you've got to…" He paused. His mouth formed into a thin line. Leaning down closer to the wildcat, current feelings early that day vanished as faint sounds of crying reached his processor. "…Freeze Blade?" Reaching out and grabbing the young teammate by the shoulder, he eased the cat up to a sitting position, his surprise and worry confirmed at what he saw.

Fresh tears trailed down the cat's face, coating his cheeks in salt. The sad look on his face over placed his trademark happy one, making a completely different person that Spy Rise doubted was really Freeze Blade. It only worsened when he caught sight of the dark red color staining the right side of the feline's neck, growing bigger and trailed down and seep into his shirt, turning the navy blue into a deep shade of purple.

"Freeze Blade? What? W-what ha—?"

"GREAT ELEMENTS ABOVE WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Wash Buckler shouted, shoving Spy Rise away and cupping Freeze Blade's face in his hands as he looked at the cat in worry. "Did You Cut Yourself Or Something?!"

Neither swapper expected more tears to come out of his eyes, or to suddenly break down and curl up, heaving in between breaths. Both adults looked at each other, uncertain of what to do. Slowly, they did their best to try and calm the ice cat down, getting him to the medical ward for treatment. After a while, the wound was treated and most of the tears were dried up, but no answer to how he had gained the wound was revealed. He only uttered out two simple words before crying again.

"N-night…s-s-Shift."

* * *

He hated this, very much. He had a long list of why this was a horrible idea. If they would just stop and think it through they'd see how idiotic it was. How could this possibly work? It wasn't even a good plan to start with! But noooo! Wash Buckler though it be a _greeeeat_ idea so they had to go along with it! Bumbling idiot, who listens to Trap Shadow anyway?! All his ideas were terrible!

"Spy Rise! Stop huffing like a toddler and get back on look out!"

Spy Rise gritted his teeth, tightening his hold on the spy glass he was given for his 'duty'. "Aye aye… _captain._ " His words came out in a low growl. Why of all day's did Flynn have to be busy enough not to polite them? It was nice enough for him to lend them his ship and all, though it would have been better, -and a lot faster-, if he was the one steering the ship instead of Wash Buckler. But the octopus insisted that he would be the one to drive, and a whole fifty five minute argument over the control for the wheel ensured between them. In the end, Blast Zone had to split them up, giving Wash Buckler the wheel and Spy Rise watch duty, much to his displeasure.

"Honestly. You stop steering a ship for a hundred years and now you jump at every chance you get just to move it along. I swear, you keep asking Flynn to drive while my back is turned." The spider huffed, peering through the spy glass. "I mean really, what is with you? You can't just try and pilot every ship you see. That's bazaar! What are you taking every day that makes you so completely insane?"

Blast Zone watched Spy Rise fume as he talked to himself, smiling inwardly. Good old Spy. Always finding the simplest of things to complain and fume about when there was nothing to do. It was quite fun to watch from a safe distance.

He turned his attention away from the Tech to the side of the ship and his inner smile turned into a frown. Freeze Blade stood by the railing, gazing out onto the place that they called home. This was not good. In all his life that he had known the cat, he had never seen him quiet and still. The cat was always on the move, always making some kind of noise, gabbing away and making as much racket as he could, but now he was just being the complete opposite of that. Now he just stood still with his arms leaned on the rail with a faraway look in his eyes that held no sign of himself in them. He didn't need details to know that something had went down to make the cat so depressed.

"Hey Blast Zone, got a minute?"

Blast Zone turned his focus away from Freeze Blade to Wash Buckler. "Sure. What's on your mind?" Wash Buckler motioned him to come over. Confused but obliged, he went over to his friend. "What is it?"

Wash Buckler locked his eyes with his own. "Can you do me a favor?"

Blast Zone blinked, but nodded his head. He had known Wash Buckler well enough years to know that when he needed something important to be done, he relied on him or Spy Rise.

"I want you to keep an eye on the kid once we get to our destination."

That took him by surprise. Watch over Freeze Blade? That was new. Then again, no it wasn't. Every member of the SWAP Force watched over Freeze Blade. It was natural thing. He was, and still considered, the youngest of the team next Boom Jet by two years and three years next to Fire Kraken. And despite that he was just in his early twenties, a mystery of how he along with his fellow teammates still looked so young and fit despite that they were all around a hundred years old, he still acted very much like a child. Young and free spirited, full of energy, an unthinkable amount of curiosity, and boatloads filled with mischief that gets him into life threatening situations once or twice. Or more. He didn't keep track as well as Spy Rise or Night Shift did.

"I'm just a little concerned for him. He's…not been himself for a while now and I just want to make sure that he'll be alright. Get my drift?"

He nodded. He knew perfectly well that Wash Buckler had a deep concern for his team when they weren't themselves and tried every way possible to help them out. Especially taking an idea from Trap Shadow. He looked out on the deck, spotting the tiger talking to Freeze Blade. What he was talking about, he had no clue, but considering it was Trap Shadow, it was anything but helpful.

"Are you sure that it was a good idea to take Trap Shadow's suggestion?"

"No." Wash Buckler answered before sighing. "But, he's right in a way. Whatever happened between them, they just need some time apart to cool down. And maybe this will help the kid cheer up a bit."

He doubted it, but didn't voice it. If anything, this mission would just go wrong in the end and make it even worse instead of better like they intended it to be. But it should be a fairly simple mission. It was just to check out an old warehouse that some of the nearby residents had reported hearing noises and seeing lights inside the old building. Just a simple look around and find anything unusual there. It could be that someone was going there every night just to have fun, but it still needed to be checked out just to be sure.

"Nothing bad will happen." He whispered to himself. "It'll be fine in the end."

He'd regretted those words later on.

* * *

"Thirteen…fourteen…fifteen…sixteen…seventeen…eighteen…" Spy Rise counted the crates that were stacked in front of him. Earlier on he would of discarded they as regular old wooden crates, but now that changed when he knew what exactly was in them. "Twenty two…twenty three…twenty four, five, six, seven…there's twenty eight over here Wash Buckler." He called over his shoulder.

"I've counted twenty six over here. That makes about fifty four crates filled with these things in this section of the warehouse."

Spy Rise could practically feel Wash Buckler shake at the mention of the crates contents. And why wouldn't he? After finding out what was in the crates, he almost went berserk with rage. He had almost done the same, almost, but he remained strong and fought off the urge to strangle someone. His eyes shifted to a partly open lid of a crate next to him. Uneasiness and a slight chill ran though his body. His hands tightened into fists as a feeling turned in his stomach that almost made him feel sick enough to bring up his food and out his mouth.

This feeling, this feeling stirring inside him. He felt it before. It was a feeling that he got when he, Wash Buckler, Doom Stone, Free Ranger, Fire Kraken, Grilla Drilla, and the rest of his teammates got close to…that. None of the Skylanders would feel this feeling he and the SWAP Force felt. None. It was only them who could feel such a feeling, no one else. They felt this feeling that they got whenever they were at least a foot or ten feet away from it. It was enough to drive any of them crazy if they were near it for too long if there was little or little if there was much of it around. The others were lucky not to have this feeling. They didn't have to suffer it like they did. They didn't need to go through what they had to. No, it was just the team that felt this feeling. Spyro could claim that he felt the same about it, but it wouldn't be the same. It would never be the same.

His hands trembled as he grabbed hold of the lid, taking some effort to pry it off the crate fully as some nails still stuck it in. Once that task was complete and the board set aside, he looked inside the crate and stared. Stared, and glared.

Inside the crate were stones that gave off a low hue of purple that brightened and darken in different time paces. Most stones were small, few were big, others were an in between sizes. But what was noticeable about them was that they were see through, like a crystal, and tainted in a light purple color. Spy Rise nearly spat at the stones, the feeling growing alongside with anger in his chest. He knew well enough what these stones were. Every Skylander knew, but only the SWAP Force knew it best.

Petrified darkness.

He hated it. He hated it all the way with no stop or ceasing to do so. Yes, he would never stop hating it, no matter what or who told him to. It was something that was never to be forgiven no matter how many years it took. He would never accept such a thing in his life. It had caused so much damage, so much pain, so much suffering and turmoil that no one would ever forget.

With a sharp tsk, he grabbed the lid and placed it back on the crate with a little more force than he had intended. Yes, he would never forgive such a thing as long as he lived.

Turning away from the crate, his focus went to the rest of the team and their prisoners. Tightly chained in Trap Shadow's magical traps, five ogres sat on the ground, beaten, battered, and bruised from the earlier fight that took place. Each swapper had taken down their own opponent with little trouble and with no need for assistance. Now all that was left was to contact the other Skylanders and figure out what the stones were going to be used for. Though he could take a lucky guess that Kaos had another _ingenious_ plan to rule Skylands. Again. And it involved the stones. A bitter taste climbed into his mouth when he thought about the crystals.

"Yo Spy, have any idea what Kaos plan's to do with these?"

Spy Rise, turning his focus away from their captives, frowned at Trap Shadow. "Honestly? No. But truthfully I think that it can't be good if he wants this." He swept his arm across the area, glaring at each crate that he could see. "Much petrified darkness."

Trap Shadow snorted, pulling at the chain that held the ogres in place. "Nothing that little bald freak does is good."

He nodded in agreement. Of course nothing he did was good. Why would he do such a thing? He never did anything to help Skyland, expect for that one time with the Doom Raiders, but that was only a one time deal and nothing more! He always suspected that the dark portal master had something evil up his sleeve, which he was right about. Though everyone never gave Kaos their full trust, not even Fire Kraken. The smiledon kept a good distance away from the evil dower when he had helped for the time being. And Night Shift had made extra sure that Kaos didn't get to close to him or Freeze Blade. The vampire would never place his trust in the dark portal master even if his life was depending on it.

Sweeping his eyes across the room, he spotted Freeze Blade not far off sitting on a crate, ideally looking at his chakram. Frowning, Spy Rise made his way over to the cat. "Hey." He lifted one hand and waved, trying to look easy though it proved to be a bit of difficulty with all the stones around.

Freeze Blade instantly looked up from his weapon, locking his eyes on the spy. Spy Rise could clearly see that some of the sadness in the cat's covered eyes were gone, but still held a great deal of misery in them.

"You doing okay?"

Freeze Blade stayed quiet for a short time before nodding his head. A slight frown formed on Spy Rise's face, but he quickly replaced it with a concerned smile.

"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

He shook his head. The frown stayed a bit longer this time.

"Do you want to hang with the others?"

Freeze Blade stared a moment at him, locking his eyes with his. Then he looked at the others, pausing as if he was considering what the spy offered him. In the end, the cat looked back at him with a small smile and shook his head. Seeing the smile put some small ease to Spy Rise's worry. Maybe Trap Shadow's idea did have some benefits to it.

 **CRASH!**

Both swappers turned their heads to the sound.

"Oh for the love of! Spy! Blast! Give me a hand here will ya?"

Spy Rise rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. Honestly, did they have to make such a mess everywhere they went? "I'll be back." He informed Freeze Blade as he left to help the sea captain.

"Alright Wash Buckler, what did you—?" He stopped, taking in the sight before him. "…you didn't."

Stones of petrified darkness were scattered all over the floor. Wash Buckler, having some stones in his arms and a few in his tentacles, laughed a bit uneasy. "Not on purpose. I was just trying to move a crate but it slipped out from my grasp and broke open. My bad dude." He put a hand behind his head as he chuckled, trembling. Not out of embarrassment, Spy Rise noted. He was shaking in rage. No one, _no one_ , felt more anger towards the stones more than Wash Buckler. He hated those very things with his very being and soul.

Spy Rise sighed, picking up a few stones. Each one that he picked up, rage built up inside him. Not from him in particular, more from the magic inside of him. The good magic. The magic that was gifted to him and his friends to swap halves with each other and made them the SWAP Force. He could feel its anger to the stones that he picked up and place back in an empty crate that Blast Zone brought over.

"How's Freeze Blade?" Blast Zone suddenly asked, dumping a pile of stones in his arms into the crate.

"Fine. Actually, I think he's a bit better." Spy Rise stole a quick glance at the cat. "I hate to say this, but, I think this actually did help him a bit."

"Whoa, hold the phone dudes! Spy Rise actually admits that Trap Shadow did good!" Wash Buckler joked, placing three more stones in with his tentacles.

"I-I did not!" Spy Rise retorted, almost hearing a snicker coming from Trap Shadow. "I just said that Freeze Blade doesn't seem so down anymore, I never said that this plan or Trap Shadow was good idea!"

"Uh huh, surrre you did."

"I did! I swear I only said just that!"

"Likely story."

"Wash Buckler, Oh Dear Eon Above! I Swear I Will Hurt You So Bad, You'll Forget Who You Even Are!"

"I love you too dude!"

" ** _FU—!_** "

" **TRAP SHADOW WATCH OUT!** "

His words died when he heard Freeze Blade scream, but his body went cold when the thundering sound of a laser being fired sounded off and the crashing sound of crates hitting the floor echoed in his servos. Quick as he could, he spun a full hundred and eighty degrees, feeling his body go colder with dread. Trap Shadow laid out on the floor where he was pushed out of the way. The crates that were behind him were broken and toppled over, spilling out the stones in a large mound of glowing purple.

And Freeze Blade was nowhere to be seen.

Spy Rise gripped the edge of the crate as a sickly realization crossed his mind. No. He couldn't have. Freeze Blade couldn't have. He just couldn't.

"TROLL!" Blast Zone shouted, snapping Spy Rise eyes away from the mound to the troll that danced on top of the crates with the largest looking laser that he'd ever seen, stopping when it realized it had been spotted and made a mad dash to escape.

The anger came back, but not at the stones this time. "After him!" He shouted, taking chase after the troll with Blast Zone not far behind him.

"Wash! The kid!"

Spy Rise looked behind himself to see Wash Buckler hurrying over to Trap Shadow, who had gotten up quickly as he knew what happened, and helped the tiger move the stones and pieces of broken crate away as they tried to dig the young member out. Knowing that things were handled there, Spy Rise continued his pursuit.

The troll was crafty, escaping their grasp and evading them as he ran. Spy Rise was sure that the weapon was heavy enough to slow the troll down, but it didn't seem that way. They followed after the troll, following it to the back of the building where he made it to the outside and onto an awaiting ship. They weren't fast enough to catch the ship as it sped off and far into the distance.

Spy Rise watched the craft shrink from his view, turning to Blast Zone next to him. "Can't you fly after it?!"

"It's too fast, I wouldn't be able to catch up to it in time."

Spy Rise growled holding his head and biting down hard on his bottom lip. Then, he remembered. Freeze Blade got hit by the laser. He was hurt. He needed medical attention. Fast. Again he ran, back inside the building, turning every corner till he was standing twenty feet away from Wash Buckler and Trap Shadow. Their backs were turned on him, but they weren't digging in the mound of stones. Dread pierced his heart as Blast Zone landed beside him, taking a few step forward. "Guys? What's wrong? Is Freeze Blade alright?"

An icy minute passed, and Spy Rise feared the worst when they slowly turned around. But the looks on their faces peeked his concern. They didn't look sad. In fact, they looked surprised. Shocked even. Before he could do or say anything, he saw why they look so surprised, and his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates. In Trap Shadow's arms was a tiny baby, crying away in the navy blue shirt and mask that were just too big for the tot. A grey fur little wildcat.

"…Oh by Eon above, this can't be happening."

* * *

"And after that, Blast Zone contacted the other Skylanders to pick up the petrified darkness while we came here and went straight to my lab." Spy Rise took a moment to glance at his babyfied friend. "…it was there that, with a blood sample…that I confirmed that this child was…is indeed Freeze Blade." His eyes turned to the purple dragon. "…and, after that, Fire Kraken came and saw Freeze Blade and after a brief scuffle and a few shouts, he took him away from my grasp and we ran into Night Shift. An hour later we informed the rest of our team. We…had planned on telling you this later on in a more better condition than what had happened."

Spyro silently gazed at him. He never said a word during the whole thing, remaining quiet. Slowly, he looked at the babyfied wild cat. Freeze Blade was occupied at the moment by wrapping as much of his limbs around one of Night Shift's gloves, ideally chewing on it. Night Shift, though greatly looking displeased that his boxing glove was being used as a teething toy, said and did nothing about it.

"…and you're sure that that was what happened? All of it? Nothing else?"

"Nothing else. That's all that happened from our point of view. The only one who hasn't told you his side of the story is Trap Shadow. But he is…currently unavailable at the moment." Wash Buckler informed.

"…hmmm." Spyro, bending his head downwards, began to pace. It wasn't a long pace, just a short few steps this way and that as he was in deep thought. His pacing certainly had gotten the five months old attention. Freeze Blade watched in mild curiosity and interest as Spyro paced around. Spyro was, as everyone else was, a new thing to his eyes and, by his child innocence, thought that Spyro was just a new thing to play with later on.

After minutes of pacing, Spyro stopped, looking up from the ground at the swappers. "Alright. Here's what I think should happen. Spy Rise, you, Enigma, and the rest of the smartest Tech's. I want all of you to work together to figure out on how Freeze Blade turned into his current state. I'll gather a few Skylanders to check out the warehouse were the petrified darkness was stored and find any clues to what Kaos is planning now. The rest of you take care of Freeze Blade till we find a solution to change him back. I'll enlist some help for you so you won't need to worry. Is everything clear?"

Everyone nodded. It was clear by the tone of his voice that he was serious about this and wanted no back lip or anything.

"Right. This meeting is done. Everyone, move out!"

* * *

"That's what he said?"

Night Shift rolled his eyes, growling under his breath as he placed Freeze Blade down on Wash Buckler's, now goop free, bed. "Yes Free Ranger. That is what he said."

"So, there was no freak outs or panics or bazaro questions or anything like that?" Free Ranger asked, motioning his hand at each scenario. "Nothing?"

"Nothing."

"Not even a li—?" A boxing glove grabbed his beak, and Free Ranger suddenly found himself just an inch away from Night Shift's face with a death glare boring into his eyes.

"Nothing." Night Shift hissed out slowly, making sure that his point was well across and deep in the storm chickens mind. In truth, he was still irked from the day's event, and was not in the best's of moods at the moment. "Got it?"

Free Ranger nodded his head, not wanting to go through the vampire's wrath.

"Good." Night Shift released his hold on Free Ranger, turning his focus to the bed. Freeze Blade was trying to stuff his own foot in his mouth, looking back up at the vampire before falling backwards due to his poor balance. A smirk wiggled its way onto Night Shift's face.

"Aaawww. That's just adorable."

It vanished completely and his ever present frown returned. "Don't you have some place to be other than here?"

"Nope. I have nothing to do so I don't need to be anywhere anytime." The storm chicken knelled down beside the bed, watching the tiny cat with eagerness.

"Be careful. He has been known to grab things if they get too close to him."

"Pth. Please Night Shift." Free Ranger twisted his head towards the boxer. "I know what I'm do—ow! Ow! OW! Okay ow!"

A dark chuckle of amusement emanated from the vampires throat as he watched Freeze Blade pull on Free Ranger's lightning bolt. The tot had completely lost his interest in trying to fit his foot in his mouth when his saw the white bolt dangling above him, catching his attention quickly and before Free Ranger knew it, Freeze Blade grabbed it and started to tug. Hard.

"OW! Ni-OW!-Night Shift! OW OW OW! A l-OUCH! A little-OW! Help he-OW! Here?! OW!" Free Ranger pleaded, flailing his arms around.

Night Shift hummed as he crossed his arms and looked up, tapping one of his gloves slowly at the side of his head, sticking out his tongue as if he was thinking deeply about it. "Mmmmm, naaaa! You seemed to have this one." He turned and headed off to the door.

"Waitwaitwait! Where are you-OW! Going?! OW!"

"Oh just to grab something. I'll be back." Night Shift said while opening the door, ready to leave.

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-OW! But wh-OW! What am I suppose to do?!"

"Just keep an eye on him." Night Shift looked back at him, smirking in amusement. "Make sure that he stays safe and keep him in the room, keep him entertained, and don't let those three **_idiots_** in. Got it?"

"Y-Yeah bu-OW!"

"Then it's settled. Good bye." With that, the door closed behind Night Shift, leaving behind a bewildered storm daredevil to the fate of babysitting.

"…w-Wait! Come-OUCH! Come Back! Ow! I-I-I-If You Don't! OW! I'll, I'll Shock Him!"

The door suddenly opened partially and Night Shift stuck his head back in with his trademark glare on his face. "And I'll make sure that we'll have a storm chicken soufflé for dinner."

Free Ranger stared at Night Shift in horror. He wasn't serious right?

"…I'll be back later." The door shut again, leaving Free Ranger alone with the five month old.

"…but…I don't have a clue on how to care for kids." He whined, grabbing both of his hands as he stared at the door, waiting for it to open and Night Shift to come through. But that didn't happen, and Freeze Blade tugged harder on his bolt. "Oooow! Seriously?!"

Freeze Blade only giggled at him, placing his gummy mouth on the bolt and started to teeth it.

"Whoa! No!" Free Ranger grabbed the tot, pulling hard on him to let go of his lightning bolt. After a few tugs, he succeeded in detaching the wildcat from him. "You can pull on it as hard as you want, but it is **not** a teething toy." He scowled, fixing the bolt back in his proper place.

Suddenly having his new toy ripped away from him, Freeze Blade whined, reaching out with his tiny arms at his new toy. That was his new play thing! Not the orange things! And he wanted it back! Now!

"Ah, ah, ah." Free Ranger waged his finger in front of the tot. "No touchy."

Freeze Blade huffed, puffing out his tiny cheeks. He wasn't going to let this orange thing push him around! Seizing the finger, he opened his mouth wide and bit down as hard as he could.

This surprised Free Ranger. He wasn't in any pain or anything, but he was surprised that Freeze Blade actually went and actually bit his finger like that. "…feisty little thing aren't you?" He smirked, pulling his finger out carefully.

Freeze Blade, deciding he didn't like this new thing, wiggled in its grasp. Kicking his legs, pushing his chubby arms, whining very loudly that he did not want to be held by this thing.

Free Ranger frowned as he watched the little wildcat squirm in his grasp. What was he suppose to do? He didn't know anything about child care, let alone toddler care. "Uh, there there?" He patted the kit on top of his head.

Freeze Blade didn't like this. Not one bit. This orange thing was not fun. Not one tiny bit. He let out a sharp squeal and batted the chicken's hand away from him.

"Okay, so you don't like that." Free Ranger concluded, placing the tot down on the bed again and stood up. _Think Free Ranger, think! What do toddlers like to do?_ _Stunts? No, Night Shift will kill me if I do that. Arts and crafts? No, Wash Buckler is still yelling at Hoot Loop for making a mess in here. Food? No, that won't work. Gah! Think you stupid chicken, think!_

As Free Ranger kept thinking of ways to entertain the tot, Freeze Blade meanwhile had his focus turned to the room. If anyone knew Wash Buckler well, they knew that his sleeping quarters was like an inside of a ship. Boarded walls to match the interior of a ship, a life buoy above the bed with rope still attached to it, one or two handmade bottled ships that sat on a bookshelf on the walls, a few photos of the good old days before and after he became a Skylander, and a bathroom and a closet that he hung his clothes in. As he looked around, he spotted something that caught his attention. "Ooooooo."

"What?" Free Ranger blinked, turning around. Behind him was a desk, half covered in papers. _Report papers_. He thought. It was required for every Skylander leader to wright about their mission, about its up and downs and what happened and anyone's effort. _I bet Wash Buckler exaggerates a little about his effort._ Free Ranger rolled his eyes as he walked over to the desk, picking up paper and skimming it over.

"Ba baba."

Tossing the paper back on the desk he glanced at the toddler. "What? What do you want?"

"Ba ba baba. Ba!" Freeze Blade pointed at something on the desk.

Following the toddlers hand, he found out what he was looking at and did a double take. " _What?_ When did he get a laptop?! I thought Spy Rise confiscated electronics from him." He asked, snatching the device up. "How did we even miss this in the first place?"

"Ba ba!"

He walked back over to the bed, sitting down beside the toddler as he turned the device on. Not surprisingly, the screen turned on to a Youtube video. "Of course it's Youtube." He sighed. He didn't think of it any further as Freeze Blade babbled and pointed at something on the screen. "…Five Night's at Freddy's…the musical?" He read out loud. This confused him. He had heard of Five Night's at Freddy's from Boom Jet when he dared Fire Kraken to play it. From what he learned from Spy Rise later the next day that the smiledon sent the night up in a tree and had stayed there well into the afternoon because he was scared that the killer animatronics would get him. But from what little information he knew of the game, he had never heard of a musical about it before. "…couldn't hurt to watch, could it?" He asked the baby next to him.

"Ba ba ba."

"I think so too!" And a second later he pressed the play button and turned the volume up high.

* * *

 _Ting~ ting~_

The tiny bells sound emanated quietly from the ball as Night Shift tossed it between his gloves. It was a tiny baseball size six colored plush ball with a bell inside that jingled whenever it moved. Night Shift tossed the ball up, catching it with ease with one glove. "Maybe the kitten will like this." He mussed, shaking the ball lightly.

 _Ting~ ting~_ _ting~_

He sighed deeply, finding the little bells noise to be quite soothing to his ears. He would never admit it out loud, but he loved the sound of the tiny bell. It was small, quiet, and it only made noise when he wanted to hear it. Such a beauty. Such a gift. Such a hassle to get.

 _Ting~ ting~_

The tiny noise soothed him. It was a pain to get this tiny ball, but it the end it was worth it. Cheapskating land shark. Who buys balls this size for six hundred and sixty nine coins?! That was just stingy! Robbery even! But he must admit, it was a bit cheaper than the first upgrade and it was nice as that land shark promised it to be. So he bought it.

 _Ting~ ting~_

Such a sweet sound, he almost felt bad for giving it up so soon. Almost.

 _Ting~ ting~_

Wash Buckler's room door came into his sight. Sighing, he tucked the ball into his robe and knocked on the wood. "Free Ranger? It's me." Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door, stumbling on a strange sight.

" _Blah blah blah, that's completely absurd._ " Free Ranger sang along with the song, poking at Freeze Blade's stomach which made the toddler giggle.

A brow raised on the vampires face.

" _I'll try out all the cameras, to see what they do. Let's check the animatronics, did one of them just move? Don't be dumb! That's insane! Look, they're standing all the same. Expect for one…could it be? Bonnie's staring right at me?_ "

"What in Skylanders and in the underworld are you singing?"

Free Ranger jumped up letting out a shriek. Quickly, he twisted around. He sighed and patted his chest when he saw that it was only Night Shift. "Don't. Sneak up on me. Like that."

"I didn't sneak, you were just occupied with…whatever you were just doing."

If he didn't have feathers, Night Shift would have seen him blush with embarrassment. "U-uh. _Ahem_. S-so where did you go?"

The vampire only smirked, pulling out the ball and showed it to him.

"…a ball? You went and got a ball?"

"Is there a problem with that?" Night Shift asked in a threatening tone added with a glare.

"No!" Free Ranger held up his hands in defense.

Night Shift smirked, hovering over to the bed. The last of the song ended with Freeze Blade 'singing' along. When it ended, a new thing was placed on his small lap. He blinked, looking at the new thing. It was brightly colored and big. Curiously, he picked it up.

 _Ting~_

He flinched. Then, he shook the thing.

 _Ting~ ting~ ting~ ting~_

His eyes widen, then, the biggest smile crossed his face. A new play thing! Happily, he shook the new thing with delight, giggling with joy to the noise it made.

Free Ranger watched the kit, slightly in confusion, slightly in bafflement. He looked at Night Shift. "You got him a toy?"

The vampire only shrugged.

"…When did you become so nice?"

"…When did you learn to sing?"

That shut the bird up right up. Night Shift huffed, continuing to watch Freeze Blade play with his new toy.

* * *

 **And another chapter do- *Faints***

 **Reviews for future chapters are greatly appreciated.**


	6. Baby Time With A Snake

_Litefox: Oh, gee. Thanks. I try to keep the swappers as they are. And I can tell that you like long chapters by the length you make your chapters in your stories. (Trek and Organic Beings: An Ultron's Guide for Rising Robots) Long chapters do make a good story if you make it interesting and fun to read, but such a hassle to type and make a storyline for the plot that consumes large amounts of time, so please don't expect a lot of long chapters though I will try to make as much as I can for the story. I hope to read more from your awesome stories soon._

 _Guest: No, Trap Shadow isn't in prison. He's just trapped in a prank set by Hoot Loop from chapter three._

 _VictorianWriting: Enigma is your favorite Trapper? Wow! I'm glad that made you happy to find out that I put him in here! Side note, more Trappers will come into the story as it goes on._

 _Fangirl1007: I know right?! Forgot to mention a disclaimer for the song in the last chapter, but it as worth it!_

 _CrimsonTrainer-4395: (So many reviews from you so I'll go by chapter order) 1.) Thanks! Glad you like it! I'll definitely keep it up! 2.) No idea what OMFG means, but you're right! It is a 'surprise adoption!' 3.) EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKK! A JBH~! Huggies~! 4.) …I don't ship Night Shift and Freeze Blade. But you're about the second part, the annoying-but-I-like-you bit. Night Shift is going through a_ _ _…'faze'_ that I'll explain later on in the story to explain his behavior. 5.) Just a fanbased music video off Youtube that I thought would be fitting and lengthening to the last chapter. I hope to get some ideas from you soon if you think of any ideas to put into the story.  
_

 _And now! The week long moment you have been waiting for! On to the-!_

 ** _CRASH!_**

 _WHAT THE HECK?!_

 _"Opes! My bad!"_

 _Hoot Loop?! How'd you get here?! And why did you break back there?!_

 _"Oh well I was just getting away from Wash Buckler. He's still mad that I made a mess of his room. And, uh, you weren't attached to that dragon statue back there_ _ _…were you?"  
__

 _ _…__

 _ _"__ _ _…I'll be going no-"  
__

 ** _ _HOOT LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!__**

* * *

Life. What a simple, silly word. A simple four letter word that meant so much, and yet, so little to him. He couldn't quite grasp its meaning, yet in a turning point, it meant so much to him. Why? He didn't know why he would care so much, or even bother to care. But he did, even if it was against his nature. And what was his nature? He simply wasn't all flowers or cupcakes, but he wasn't all gloom or doom like most others from his element. His friends didn't even understand him clearly, and quite frankly, he didn't understand himself either time and time again. A simple twist of drama by Stink Boom's words. So what was he exactly? Well, he was certainly someone from the Undead element. Though, he would sometimes be mistaken for the Earth element by viva confusion of his bright yellow and orange diamond pattern scales on his body and his liking of taking a sunbathing nap in sunlight on a slow day while other Undead would hide away from the bright rays, or that his kind have been known to live in harsh, dry lands as the dessert. But, he was a hundred percent Undead. All rattlesnakes were. It wasn't just because they were creepy looking, they were also dangerous that classified them to be an Undead element. Quick wit and cunning were only a pale part about a rattlesnake when it came down to their dangerous bite.

A hemotoxic venom, a special type of venom that destroyed tissue, cause necrosis and coagulopathy, or blood clotting by easier remembrance. Every rattlesnake was born with this strong poison, or, most snakes were. It didn't bother him that his venom wasn't as deadly like other rattlesnakes and only stunned his victims for a short amount of time, and honestly, the thought of killing didn't settle fine in his mind. No, he would rather live his life without blood on his hands thank you very much. He would rather stick to snakeslinging than bite someone. It was just not him to bite someone, that job was left for Night Shift.

Yet, despite everything that others may think of him, by looks or personality likewise, he considered himself virtuous. He had standers that he held onto tightly, no matter how hard someone could try to persuade him. When he knew it was wrong, it was wrong and stuck to it. So what if it made him seem like a bad guy to others? He didn't care. He stuck to his morals despite what others said or thought of him, which gained some respect to him from the others. Only a few good people saw the real him and his real intentions, few even considered themselves as his friend before he even knew it. Namely his team. He couldn't understand why, or how, and sometimes even doubted that his team really did understand him, but as far as he knew, never in his life had anyone accepted him so easily than his team.

At first when Wash Buckler had invited him to join the team, the first thought that came to his head questioned if it was a prank of some sort. But even though he doubted the squid, he accepted the offer, and soon found himself joining the ragtag team that, by then, was just starting out. He was the seventh to join the team, and after sometime, found it quite enjoyable, even welcoming a few of the new members in and few even greeted him back when they joined. Never would he forget the day that Fire Kraken joined the pack, or the terrible back pain he had for two weeks straight when the smiledon jumped on him for a bone crushing hug when they first met. Or the time Boom Jet made a first impression when he crash landed through the roof and laughed at the stunt when he helped Doom Stone carry the stunt devil to the infirmary, forever confusing the snake why he would even consider such dangerous things as _fun_. But if he had to pick which memory of his first encounter with his teammates was his favorite, he would have to admit that he didn't have one.

He had two.

The first time that he had ever met the grumpy old school Night Shift and the go happy ice cat Freeze Blade. When he had first met the boxer, a fellow Undead element, the first thing that happened between them was a boxing glove to his face and a week long stay in the hospital wing with a broken and pain filled body after a two hour long fight he had with Night Shift. He never quite fully understood what had set the boxer off that made him punch him like he did, but it was clear that they wouldn't get along so easily, which was true. For a whole three years, they had arguments, fights, and death threats that got on other Skylanders nerves often, which ended quickly as it begun by their team, most often by Wash Buckler. A few time he had to tie them up in his tentacles and keep them apart as far as his legs would go. Their fighting only stopped, thankfully, when Blast Zone brought in their final and youngest member. Never in his life had he met someone with such a friendly attitude to him when he met the ice cat for the first time, or so casual to him when Freeze Blade skated up to him with a warm smile and greeted him like a long time buddy without the slightest hint of fear in him at all and asked a boatload of questions that he hardly remembered him asking, but he was certain that none of them were any of the questions that others asked him in the past. For a minute, he thought that Freeze Blade was an alien or something out of this world. But the shock wore off and he soon found himself liking the cat. By his friendly attitude or the young spunk that the young teen had, it wasn't what made him like the cat. It was his acceptance to him that made him warm up to him quickly. And it was thanks to Freeze Blade that his fights with Night Shift had gone down to a minimal standard of poking each others buttons or a slight disagreement.

Whether Freeze Blade knew this or not, his arrival to the team had an impacted on them, especially on Night Shift. The others couldn't be quite aware so much like him to know that the vampire had formed a soft spot for the young member. He did keep it well hidden and safe from them that even Spy Rise couldn't figure it out. He didn't know if Freeze Blade was well aware of it also and just kept it to himself, or he didn't have a clue what-so-ever. Either way, he knew that in Night Shift's hard, tough, cold shell, he had the softest spot that only he would give to Freeze Blade, but didn't show it. Much. But he sometimes wondered why the vampire held the soft spot for the cat, it was a mystery to him. But for whatever reason he had, he wouldn't push it. Night Shift's feeling and thoughts were his own. If he wanted them to be known, he would say it, no pushing him into telling needed.

Buuuut, pressing a button or two~

His mouth formed into a smirk as he watched the vampire roll a ball back to the babyfied teammate from the doorway. He had sent Free Ranger off to go and ask Sonic Boom for supplies for caring the little kit. _Ooooh_ , this was just too easy! It had been awhile since he'd teased the old bat, and a perfect opportunity just happened to show itself. Taking a lesson from Trap Shadow on sneaking up on someone would finally pay off.

Careful not to alert his target of his presence, he slithered in, minding to be quiet. Slow, steady, be mindful not to make any noise. His tongue flicked in and out, taking in the scent of his soon to be victim. He didn't notice, completely unaware of his presence behind him. His focus was only on the tot. Scaly lips parted ways, his fangs gleamed in the light. Keep that way…steady…keep your eyes on the toddler…steady…steeeaaadyyyyyy…

" _Going soft amigo_?" He whispered softly next to Night Shift's ear.

Almost immediately, a boxing glove was swung at his face. Laughter burst out from his mouth as he dodged the attack, backing away as he held his sides like he was in pain. "AHAHAHAHAH! Oh amigo! Su reacción no tiene precio! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Rattle Shake! You sorry excuse for your own species!" Night Shift hissed.

"Hola a ti también." He snickered, rubbing an eye as his laughter died down.

Night Shift snorted, crossing his arms as he glared at him. "That, was not amusing." He coldly stated.

"No, no. It wasn't." He leaned closer to the vampire, putting on his best smile. "It was a hilarious." A round of giggles danced in his throat as he backed away.

"BA! You poor excuse of a worm."

"I prefer handsome worm, if you will."

Night Shift growled, bearing his fangs. "What do you want? You can't be here just to annoy me."

"I can't?" Rattle Shake mocked, acting dumb to the question. "Then, I must of come to see our youngest member then." He pushed the vampire aside, going up to the bed. "After all, I simply haven't had a good look at him as he is yet." His eyes peered down at the ice kit as he looked up at him.

Freeze Blade stared at this new thing that scared his black thing. He was slightly afraid of this new thing because it was yellow like the other yellow thing and the black thing didn't seem to like this thing, but his curiosity drowned his fear out. He tried to get closer to this new thing as its head got closer to him. As he got closer, a funny smell hit his nose. Intrigued, he began sniffing this new thing. It smelled funny, but not in a funny way like the smelly thing. It don't smell bad, it smelled different, like green thingy that the nice blue thing let him sniff at. Kind of sweet and powdery.

"Back off!" Night Shift grabbed Rattle Shake by the collar of his shirt, pulling the snake away from baby Blade. "You'll make him nervous!"

"What? Nervous? Him? Tsk, tsk, Noche." He turned to the vampire, getting out of his grasp and place his hands on his belt with a smirk dancing on his face. "If I would make him nervous, then you would terrify him." It would be true. Night Shift didn't really look like prince charming. But Freeze Blade didn't seem to be scared by the vampires look. In fact, he looked very calm around the boxer.

Night Shift growled, having enough of the snakes visit. Snatching the snake by his neck, blocking the airway, he tossed the snake out the door. With a snort, he grabbed the door, and slammed it shut.

The loud sound startled baby Blade. With a tiny yelp, he grabbed and clung to his toy, ears going flat against his head.

Hearing the tiny yelp, Night Shift looked back at the kit. "…" With a sigh, he hovered over to the bed. "Apologies, I did not mean to scare you kitten." He reached out and picked the five month old up, bringing him close to his chest.

Freeze Blade hardly understood what the black thing was saying. He snuggled closer into his hold, finding it somewhat comforting.

Night Shift sighed, seating himself on the bed. He felt silly. It wasn't natural for him to act so nice, or even care so much. But, then again, he had never dealt with this before. He'd never took care of child before. Not so much like this. Sighing tiredly, he rubbed his chin against the top of baby Blade's head, having benefits to a dead body that was use to the cold feel of ice. For a while, he stayed like that. Holding the tiny tike close to him, letting the quietness calm him as he thought of the events that happened. It ended when knocking came from the door.

Flicking an ear up, he looked at the door. "…who is it?"

"Santa Claus. Ho ho ho."

"…Trap Shadow, leave."

"But I just want to see the little guy! You can't deny me from seeing him!"

"You saw him after he turned into a five month old!"

"Yes. And…"

"…and what?"

"…I think I know how he turned into a tot."

This grabbed his attention. "…really?"

"I said I think, I'm not sure but, I have a slight idea."

Night Shift pondered on the tigers words. Trap Shadow was there when Freeze Blade turned into a baby, and he hadn't told his side of the story. Growling, he got up, placing the toddler down on the bed, and headed to the door, opening it slightly. "…well?"

Trap Shadow was leaned against the wall next to the door, arms folded and eyes closed. "…they told you about…the darkness, right?"

The doorknob in his grip bent. "…yesss." His voice was quiet and slow.

"Well, what if it had something to do with Freeze Blade being…" He didn't finish, drifting off as he knew Night Shift could tell what he was talking about.

Opening the door more, Night Shift hovered out and stood in front of the cat. "Going on."

"…maybe, just a thought, but maybe—"

"Mi turno con el bebé!" A Spanish speaking blur of yellow shouted as it shot past the two and into the room, closing the door shut.

The two adults blinked, staring at the door for a good long moment.

"… **RATTLE SHAKE!** " They yelled, going over and tried to open the door, only to find it locked.

"Rattle Shake! Opened this door this instant!" Night Shift shouted, pounding on the door.

"Mmmm, I'll have to deny your request, amigo." Rattle Shake called from the other side of the door.

"This is not funny, snake! When I get in there, I'll—!"

"Ah ah ah! There's a child here."

Night Shift, cursing inwardly, pounded harder on the door. Dame Wash Buckler for making every swappers room doors impenetrable to his punches!

"Uh, Shift? Maybe you should stop before—" Trap Shadow tried to warn.

Crack!

Too late. Night Shift ceased his attempts of punching the door down and stared at the doorknob that Trap Shadow picked up off the ground. The same doorknob that he'd accidentally punched off.

"…uh…oh." Was all that he could manage to say.

"Yeah, big uh oh. Wash is _not_ going to be happy with us." Trap Shadow sighed, tossing the doorknob over his shoulder.

"Uh, chicos? Uh, I-I need a little ayuda." Rattle Shake called through the door.

"Aywda? What's aywda?" Trap Shadow asked while Night Shift just shrugged.

"Help!" Rattle Shake called urgently. A child's cry of fear followed after. Night Shift, instantly recognizing the wail of fear, resumed pounding on the door.

"What happened?!" Trap Shadow called, grabbing Night Shift so that his pounding wouldn't drown out his words.

"I-I don't know! He just started to cry when you started to yell!"

"Well stop yelling then!" Night Shift pointed out, pushing Trap Shadow away from him. "A child fears loud noises. He's scared right now. You have to calm him down. That's what Wash Buckler told me."

"How?! I don't know how to do such a thing!"

"Just hold him in your arms and move side to side slowly! That's how Wash did it." Trap Shadow advised, seeing the squid calm baby Blade down before. "Just, don't do it too fast, k?"

A heavy drift of silence hung over them as Freeze Blade's cries on the other side of the door carried on.

"…o-okay." Rattle Shake finally answered, sounding unsure.

"Alright, we'll go and get help. Stay there." Trap Shadow headed off.

Night Shift, on the other hand, lingered behind, staring at the door as if he was looking Rattle Shake straight in his eyes. "…be careful with him." He muttered, heading off the tiger.

On the other side, Rattle Shake stared at the door. Who would ever think that locking himself in with a toddler that he meant to be fun turned out to be a prison? Not him. Not what he'd planned to turn out with. It was only supposed to get in while Trap Shadow lured Night Shift out the room, lock the door once in, stay in there for a while, then escape once the vampire left and he'd had a good look at the child, not get trapped in a room with a five month old crying his head off. In a sense, it made him feel guilty as he was partially the reason for scaring him into tears.

Turning his gaze off the door to the bed, his guilt doubled. Freeze Blade cried as he hugged his ball close to his chest, trying to find comfort in the small item. The loud noises had scared the poor toddler halfway to death. Rattle Shake frowned. If he was his older self, he would have just shrugged it off or joined in and make more noise. But now, the noise scared him now, making him cower and tremble in fear.

Guilt stricken, Rattle Shake made his way to the bed. Leaning down a bit, he slowly, uneasily, wrapped his hands around baby Blade's torso, picking him up carefully once he was sure to have a secure grip on the child. Freeze Blade didn't fight back, he was too scared to care that he was being held. Rattle Shake, adjusted the tot in a comfy position in his arms, a bit shaky and unsure. Once that was done, he slowly began to rock himself, just as he was instructed.

A few steady minutes passed, and Freeze Blade still continued to cry. Rattle Shake was certain that he wasn't helping the kit calm down at all. He just seemed to make it worse. Ready to put down the kit and think of something else that could work, he paused. The cries were getting quieter. Looking down at the wildcat, relief washed over him as Freeze Blade's crying got softer and softer. Soon, he stopped crying altogether, sniffing as he buried part of his face in the plush color ball. Sighing in relief, Rattle Shake took a seat on the bed.

"Well, that's over and done. Now all we have to do is wait." He smiled down at the kit, frowning when he showed no sign of moving from his curled up position.

 _Great going idiota. You scared the only being who wasn't ever scared of you before_. Rattle Shake thought to himself, bringing the toddler closer to his chest and close to his heart. _I didn't mean to scare him. I just wanted to look at him._

"…"

 _And by doing so by your oh-so-brilliant plan, you scared the daylights out of him._

"…"

 _It wasn't suppose to happen like that. It was just to get in and get out, nothing more._

"…"

 _Well, now he's scared stiff because of—_

"HIC!"

His thoughts were stopped short. Looking down at Freeze Blade, the little kit was looking up from the ball, ears up and eyes wide.

"Hic!"

Rattle Shake couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little when the kit hiccuped. It was so cute it was funny to watch.

"Hic! Hic! Hic! Hic! …Hic!"

Each time that baby Blade hiccuped, his mouth opened wide and shut closed for a split second. And the more that it happened, the more Rattle Shake found it too cute to resist from laughing, forgetting his guilt for the time being.

Freeze Blade however, was not enjoying this. First, he gets scared by the loud noises, then these hicceys come, and now this yellow thing was making noises that he didn't like!

"Baaa-Hic! Aaaaa-Hic! Aaa!" He whined, slapping his hand on the things chest.

Rattle Shake smirked, keeping his laughter to a minimum of chuckles. He knew it was bad of him to be laughing over Freeze Blade like this, but he just couldn't help it. The way that he hiccuped was just so cute!

"Oh, please, please didn't hit. Por favor." He cooed, grabbing Freeze Blade's arm that was slapping against his chest. It didn't hurt, but he didn't want him to continue as it was teaching him to hurt people. "Hurting people and your friends is not how you tell them to stop, pequeño." He held the tot to his eyes level, smiling warmly.

Another hiccup escaped Freeze Blade's lips, frustrating him more. He hated this! This was all the yellow funny sounding things fault! Raising his toy above his head, he threw it as hard as he could right at the things face…which didn't get far as it slipped out from his little fingers and fell to the floor. Noooooo! His play thing! He cried out in distress, reaching feebly as far as his tiny arms would go.

Rattle Shake shook his head as he bent down, picking up the ball and handed it back to the five month old, who happily took it and held it tight. "You like that ball very much, don't you pequeño?" He asked.

Freeze Blade didn't listen to him as he shook his play thing, giggling at the sounds it made with glee.

The sound of the five month old laugh put a warm feeling in Rattle Shake's chest. Before he knew it, he got off the bed, lifted the toddler high in the air, and started to spin around. At first, baby Blade didn't know what was happening, but he quickly enjoyed the ride as he was spun around and around, bursting in a laughing fit. Rattle Shake soon find himself laughing along with the wildcat, enjoying the moment like never before. After a couple spins, Rattle Shake stopped, feeling dizzy, but happy. He chuckled, holding the kit close to his chest as he kept himself from falling over. Looking down, he smiled at the kitten. And in turn, baby Blade smiled up at him, showing his gummy mouth.

" _Having fun?_ " An icy voice whispered next to his head.

His body froze for a split second before he groaned, rolling his eyes. "How and when did you get in here?" He asked, turning around so that he was facing his companion fully.

Night Shift, smugly smirking, hovered there with his fists to his hip. "Oh, not long. Just enough to see you make a fool of yourself." He chuckled, enjoying that he had caught he 'friend' acting very much like a child.

Blue eyes narrowed at the boxer. "And how did you get in exactly?"

Night Shift didn't answer, pointing upwards to a side wall. Following the direction, his eyes landed on an air vent with its cover hanging on an unhinged screw. It was by luck that Night Shift had recalled that all if not some Water Skylanders had a hard time in the hot part of the year that hindered and heated to levels they were not use to and messed with their hydration horribly. So, with the help of some Techs, the whole building had a cooling system, meant for helping the Water Skylanders cool down, and escape from a hot day out. It also had some more befits for Life and the Undead, so each room had their own ventilation.

"It was simple." Night Shift smirked, folding his arms over his chest. "All I had to do was find a nearby room that belonged to a Water element, change into a bat and navigate through the vents. Simple"

"Of course." Rattle Shake sighed, pinching the area between his eyes as Freeze Blade ideally chewed on his toy.

* * *

Gears whirled, lights flashed, numbers on the screen flicked and changed in split seconds before anyone could count. To someone who didn't have technical know-how, all this would mean nothing to them in any sense. But to someone, like Techs, who spent their whole lives tinkering, building, crafting, and cracking with their knowledge, this was a show and music to their delight. Not many could see the beauty and wonder of wires and motherboards just waiting, begging to be built into something useful to use.

And it was her job to comply. Building, crafting, and just putting things together were her pride and joy, next to bashing baddies heads in of course. Just trying to make something into a useful weapon of battle or something to others made her feel good inside that made her want to tinker away more on stuff. In fact, she'd even jump in and fix anything that was broken if asked or not. Toasters, T.V., motors, engines, computers, etc., you give her to fix, she fixed them. Any challenge she was given was see though and done to the end.

 _Knock, knock, knock_

As long as she wasn't disturbed. "Go away, I'm busy." She called over the noise of her welding.

"…I, uh, already let myself in."

Looking up from her work, she frowned when she saw who it was. "Oh, it's you. What'da want?" She asked, turning her focus back on her welding.

Spy Rise, keeping a distance between himself and her project, stayed silent, knowing not to disturb a ticked Tech as they worked. "Uh, well, there's sort of a situation that needs your required assistance Sprocket."

"Does it involve one of your teammates having a problem with his system again?" Sprocket hardly looked up from her work.

"No."

"The fridge going on a blink again?"

"No."

"At least tell me you're not accusing me on how Wash Buckler keeps getting his suction cup fingers on a laptop, I have no idea how he gets them or where he gets the money for it."

"No. And believe me, I _will_ find out where he gets them."

"Then what'da want?! I'm busy!"

Backing away slightly, Spy Rise tried to think of the best way to explain the problem to her. Spyro had already gone off to get some of the other Techs, but why in Skylands did he send him to get her?! She was dangerous when she was working on something! "Uh, Spyro. Spyro sent me to get you."

Sprocket slowly looked up from her work, glancing at the spy.

"He needs your know how for an important task that you might help us with."

"…and just how important is it?" Sprocket cast a questioning look at him, brushing some of her red hair out from her golden face.

"Very. It's very important if Spyro asked me to get you." Spy Rise crossed his arms.

Behind her goggles, the Golding narrowed her eyes. Something wasn't right. "You seem off Spy. What's really going on here?" Her hunch was confirmed when the Tech jumped slightly and started to fluster.

"W-wha-wha me? No! No! I just, uh, just came to tell you that S-Spyro needs you for a task. Heh."

"Yes, there is." She set her tools down, swinging herself off her craft and land in front of the four legged swapper. "You don't ever act so jittery when you talk to someone. And even if you do, it's usually something bad has happen, or something is going on with one of your teammates." She jabbed a finger straight at his face, making him flinch and back up slightly. "And your lies don't work so well on me, so spill it. And it better be the truth."

He knew that he could never get past her once she suspected something was off. "W-well, I, uh, loved to stay and chat with you but I—"

"Are going to tell me what is going down and—"

"Enough Sprocket."

Time around Spy Rise slowed down around him as he looked at the entrance to the warehouse, feeling his circuits and wiring speed up when he saw… _her~_

Slim white body with golden color tubing that twisted like springs, covering her joints and valued wiring underneath. A small gear oriented each shoulder, a larger one sported on her back, and one of a gold design sat on her forehead. Her body moved with smoothness of an organic being, swift and steady. Her eyes were a fascinating color of dark blue surrounding an orb of pale blue that surrounded the smaller orb of red. In her sleek hands was her main weapon, the Traptanium Gear, split in two parts, Duel Mode, for easy carriage and easy attack.

"You shouldn't be so tough on Spy Rise. He's just doing what Spyro told him to do." She spoke calmly, stopping a few inches away from them.

"But he's hiding something! I just know he is!" Sprocket pointed at him. "Look at him! Does he seem to be the kind of guy that tells you everything?!"

"You're just edgy because he stopped you from working on your project." Gearshift glanced past Sprocket at the said project. "What are you crafting anyway? It looks like a ship."

" **Not** just any ship!" Sprocket turned to admire her work. "This is my latest invention! Behold! Mac Ten! The new and improved speed ship! Capable of flying through the toughest weather with ease and precision that puts all other crafts to shame!"

Gearshift nodded, restraining herself to point out that the ship bared an awfully close resemblance to Sharpfin's ship. Though this ship was red, not blue, and parts of its interior were still showing here and there. "Looks fast."

"Indeed." Sprocket agreed, folding her arms. "And it's almost complete. But _someone_ is keeping me from finishing it." Her words came out in a growl as she glanced over her shoulder and glared slightly at Spy Rise, who had been completely quiet and stared at Gearshift the whole time. "Spy. Spy Rise!" Kicking one of his legs, she smirked as he snapped out of his daze.

"Wha? What time is it?"

Quiet giggles left her mouth as Gearshift smile at the swapper. "Something on your mind Sipdy?"

Heat emanated in his cheeks. Laughing a bit as he rubbed the back of his head, his words stuttered a bit as he spoke. "Y-yeah s-sorry. I was t-thinking about h-how l-lucky that y-you came along and s-save my hide from S-S-Sprocket's wrath. H-heh."

"Or how much pain you'll be in soon." Sprocket huffed under her breath.

"Sprock, be nice now." Gearshift hushed her, turning to Spy Rise. "Now, what exactly does Spyro need from her Spy?"

"Uh, well, um." His throat began to tighten, finding it hard to from words as Gearshifts eyes were on him. "Uh…heh."

"OH For Eon's Sake! I'll Go Already!" Sprocket announced in a groan, stomping up to Gearshift and taking her by the arm, pulling the large robot along with her. "Come on Gear, if Spyro has an important task, he'll probably want to see you too."

"Oh, well, lead the way." She glanced back at Spy Rise, waving her free arm at him. "Bye Spy! We'll meet up with you later!"

"And Close The Doors On Your Way Out!"

"B-bye!" Spy Rise croaked out, waving his arm clumsily. Once they were out of sight, a goofy, dreamy look melted on his face as he sighed. It was strange. Whenever he saw, heard, or thought of Gearshift, he always had this gooey, funny feeling inside his chest. At first, he thought he was having some sort of medical condition or something, but all his scans and medical records showed no signs of such things. So he went to a professional of feelings, Stink Boom. It was easy to talk to him about feelings, and keep a good number of secrets from others when he didn't want them knowing anything. But, the skunk had no clue of what was happening to him, but someone else did, and, much to his annoyance and constantly making him swear not to tell, he found out through **Wash Buckler** that he was feeling love.

Love? As if! He had just met the trapper! And known her for precisely a year and eight months, nine by tomorrow. Why would he feel love to a sleek, beautiful, calm, gentle, caring, motivating, trustworthy, brilliant, skilled, amazing, hardworking girl like her? It just didn't make any sense to him. Or how much twelve dozen packs of soda coast as much as a fortune when he had to bribe the squid to keep his mouth shut about it.

He sighed wishfully as he headed out…coming back a moment later to shut the doors.

* * *

"MY DOOR! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DOOR?!"

"Uh, yeah I might of left that part out." Trap Shadow cringed, backing away from the Meremasquid as he gaped over the damage done to his bedroom door. "B-but it's not that bad."

"Not that bad?! The doorknob is gone!"

"But the door is still intact."

"You said there was barely any damage done to it!"

Not for from the two, Night Shift, gotten out through the vents earlier, hovered in place next to Stink Bomb. "If you ladies are done bickering, I'll just—"

Wash Buckler twisted around, glaring daggers at Night Shift. "You stay there! You are in big trouble once this is over."

Night Shift frowned but said nothing. "Soooo, how do we get them out?" Stink Bomb stepped in, glancing at the door.

"Burn it down?" Trap Shadow suggested with a slight crazed grin on his face.

"No! That'll just burn everything else down you imbecile!" Night Shift growled.

"And the wood's fireproof." Wash Buckler lightly knocked his knuckles on the door.

"And we are still in here." Rattle Shake called through the door, accompanied by a small coo from baby Blade.

"Maybe we can cut it into pieces?" Stink Bomb though out loud.

"Tsk! Yeah, and who can cut down a thick door?" Trap Shadow asked, getting his answer when the tip of a cutlass poked his cheekbone. Wash Buckler huffed, pulling his sword away and started to swing at his door, making shallow cuts in the wood.

"That's not going to work old man. That blade isn't sharp enough and the door's too thick. It'll take you years before you cut the whole thing down."

"I. Don't. Care."

"…just saying."

Stink Bomb frowned. It wasn't like Wash Buckler to be so grumpy over such little things. He'd usually just let it blow over and move on. Like the one time Rubble Rouser accidentally ate one of his skipping stones by mistake. Wash Buckler just laughed it off and patted the Rock Golem on the back, telling him not to worry about it. Or the time Grilla Drilla made his house of cards fall down on mishap and Wash Buckler just had him help rebuild it without a grudge against the gorilla. Now he was mad that his door was ruined? That wasn't right.

"Hey! Guys!"

Stink Bomb flinched, turned around, relaxing when he saw it was only Free Ranger coming up to them and not someone else. "Hey Free!" He waved at his friend, spotting a white bag in the storm chickens hand. "What's in the bag?"

"This?" Free Ranger held the item up. "Just some supplies for caring for Freeze that I got from Sonic Boom. Hey did you know that she knew Freeze Blade got turned into a baby? I mean she instantly knew! No question asked!"

"No. I didn't. Though, it's sorta obvious to tell." Stink Bomb flicked his tail. "Ice in the same areas, grey fur, wildcat. Who else do we know that has those looks?"

"Don't forget the mask. He always wears that mask."

Stink Bomb frowned, turning to Night Shift. "Why does he still wear it? It's too big for him and there's no point in keeping it on as he is now."

Night Shift scoffed. "It's what he likes. If keeping the mask on makes him cooperate, then just leave it on."

Stink Bomb could almost immediately tell that the vampire had tried to take the mask off but failed. A small smile came on the skunks face. As much as he would admit, Stink Bomb was certain that Night Shift only wanted to see Freeze Blade's eyes. It had been a while, more than a hundred years that the team knew each other, that Freeze Blade had ever dared to take off his mask. It wasn't more for identity, it was more of a concealment of a scar that he never wanted anyone to see. Why? All he knew was that the ice cat wouldn't talk about it, no matter how much someone probed him to tell. His lips were shut to the topic. No bribery, threats, or persuasion could get him to tell what was behind the mask he wore.

Not often did the subject of the mask come up often. It wasn't interesting to say the least. Even Freeze Blade wouldn't comment on it. But a few have been curious to ask him what was behind it. The only answer they got was stone silence. No joke. The fast talking speedstar, who would go on and on and on talking for hours and never cease, would shut up and stay silent the rest of the day if his mask was brought into the conversation. Back in the beginning, Spy Rise had often questioned Freeze Blade about his mask just to keep him quiet. The tacit didn't last long though. When he questioned the cat about his mask to shut him up, he expected silence, not a full blown threat from the young teen that stopped him, and the rest of the SWAP Force, from asking about the mask ever again.

Someone may see him as a laid back, pranking speedster, but no one could tell, or be prepared for the fury that they had ever seen come from the young cat. Full blown. And quite scary. Anger and violence would never fall under his category, but when his mask was asked about for the final time, surprise with a slight taste of fear was all that the team felt that day when Freeze Blade grabbed Spy Rise around his neck and threatened to tear his limbs off and stuff them down his throat by the sharpest end till he bled to death. That, would be the most scariest and only time that they had ever seen him angry. After that, he was back to his happy go friendly self the next day.

There was one time that he did take it off, but it was such a long time ago that he forgotten what was behind the fabric.

Krack!

"Got it!" Wash Buckler happily announce, seething his cutlass.

"Got what?" Free Ranger asked as the door opened and Rattle Shake came through with the toddler in his arms.

"Got the door open. Now, stop using my room as a playroom!" Wash Buckler huffed, walking past Rattle Shake and shutting the door behind him.

"…calamares pobres."

* * *

 **Poor Wash Buckler, can't seem to get a break. Review your thoughts. Each review you send will help get Hoot Loop out of the hospital sooner.  
**

 **And for a little fun, I challenge anyone who can correctly guess what Rattle Shake is saying throughout this chapter. The first person, or the person who guesses it close enough will get a special treat.**

 **Live, love, rejoice~!**


	7. Enter a Portal Master

_Fangirl1007: Oh my gosh! I totally get it! I'll be sure to make that he's mentioned often in the story._

 _CrimsonTrainer-4395: Rattle Shake has never taken care of a child before, so of course he would be wary. You laughed when you read that Freeze Blade threatened Spy Rise? SPYXGEAR FOR LIFE BABY! #ISHIPTHEMSOWHAT?_

 _Icepelt2000: Welcome to Fanfiction. Are things going well for you? I'm glad to know that you like my story so far and I'm interested to know what ideas you have for future chapters. Your support and everyone else's motivates me to keep typing and crating new chapters._

 _VictorianWriting: Don't we all? ^-*_

 _LiteFox: Yeah! Glad you like it! Yeah, it's understandable for Wash Buckler to get grumpy with all that's going around. Don't worry though. He won't stay grumpy for long. OH by nice! Hoot Loop deserves love too! Robotic cuties! Spy does act like a dork around her, doesn't he? There is no scar behind Freeze Blade's mask. Well, not physically anyway. He does have a bad emotional scar that involves his eyes, so just sit tight. They will be revealed later on in the story!_

 _Legend of the Phoenix: Well I'm glad that you think it's cute. Night Shift isn't over protective. He's just worried that Freeze Blade could get hurt if he's unattended even for a tiny second and fears that his team could possibly endanger the tots life in any possible way imagined. He has such good trust in them._

 _FrostWinged: It would be bad if they knew._

 _Alright!I would like to thank FrostWingedButterfly for being the winner, -and only person to answer-, the challenge that I had in the last chapter! And as promised, the special pries is a OC that she has sent me, not mine but hers, to be included in the story! All rights of the OC belong to her and her alone. Also the song I have used belongs rightfully to Resident Evil.  
_

* * *

Friday, the most wonderful day of the week. Friday was the day for relaxing, for fun, for hanging with friends at the arcade for hours till it was time for dinner. But Friday was also the last school day of the weekend. That meant that she had two whole day and nights of freedom to spend before school came around next week. That gave an unlimited amount of stuff to do before then. But the problem was what to do first.

Her body jerked a bit when the bus came to a halt. Smiling, she grabbed her school bag and slung it over her shoulder as she walked down the rows of seats still filled with students and friends that were waiting eagerly to get home and spend time goofing off rather than study or do school work.

"Man I can't wait to get home and get on my games!"

"FINALLY! I can get my Ipod back from mom!"

"Skylanders! Here I come! Wahoo!"

She paused briefly at the door when she heard someone shout out in excitement about Skylanders. Smiling, she continued out the door and onto the pavement that led to her house.

 _If only you could know them personally._ She thought to herself as she fished out the key to her home from her pocket shorts. Unlocking the door, she immediately noticed two things. One, her home was quiet. Usually, by the time she had returned home, someone would be around to greet her or something, or something would be on in the other room. It was silent now, no noise, no greeting, nothing. The second thing she noticed was a welcoming smell that she knew anywhere. "Meatballs!" Smiling, she set her bag against the wall as she raced to the kitchen, feeling her mouth salivate when she spotted her intended meal on the counter in a container with a note beside it. Walking over, she picked up the note and skimmed through it.

 _Dear Aria,_

 _How are you dear? Was school alright? I hope you had a nice day. I'm sorry I wasn't here to greet you once you got back, but work called in and I had to leave earlier than expected. I made you your dinner, extra spicy just how you like it. Your father and I will be back around eight or so, so the house is under your watch till we get back._

 _Love, Mother._

Aria smiled as she popped the lid open, taking in the sweat aroma of meatballs before taking a fork out from the pantry and dug into the food. The flavor of spices dance on her tongue as she savored the taste. _No one can make a meal as good as mom._ Exiting the kitchen with food in hand, her next destination was the living room. She was halfway there when the phone rang. She was already next to it, so picking it up than letting the voice mail get it, she placed the phone next to her ear. "Hello?"

 _"_ _Aria? It's Melody."_

Her smile grew. "Hey Melly! How's it going?"

 _"_ _It would be better. Listen, I have to cancel our meet up at the arcade. Parents are out for the night to visit a friend and I'm stuck with watch duty."_

The smile faltered and faded as she listened to her friend explain her situation. _Well, arcade night is off the list._ "Oh, well, I understand."

 _"_ _I'm sorry Aria. I really didn't want to cancel."_

"Aaah don't worry about it!" She smiled, entering the living and took a seat on the couch, grabbing the TV remote and flipped the set on. "I've got plenty of stuff to do. Don't worry about it."

 _"_ _Are you sure?"_

"Sure I'm sure! Besides." Her eyes glanced down to the coffee table by her feet. "I was going to visit some friends tonight anyway." She smiled down at the toy versions of Cynder, Whirlwind, Stealth Elf, Terrafin, Trigger Happy, and Spyro.

 _"_ _You mean the friends that you never tell me about?"_

"Yep." She picked Spyro, smiling at the small dragon. "The same ones."

 _"_ _Girl, sometimes I worry that these friends of yours are just sad excuses to say that you're lonely."_

"I'll see you on Sunday then?"

 _"…_ _yes, I'll be there."_

"Great!" She set Spyro down, switching the TV off and got off the couch. "I'll bring the quarters!"

 _"_ _And I'll bring the sugar! Heh heh! See you Sunday Aria!"_

"See you Sunday Melody." With that done, she ended the call, finishing off the rest of her dinner before heading to her room to grab the necessary items for her trip. Once packed, she took a quick glance at her full view mirror. She was a thin girl, around fifteen years of age, wearing a purple and black sweater with blue denim shorts with black leggings and white running shoes on her feet. Shoulder length hair, mixture of brown and red sat on top of her head, pushed back so they were out of her brown eyes. Nodding to herself, she slung her bag with her items in it onto her back and headed down stairs to the kitchen, writing a quick note to her parents on her whereabouts. With that done, she headed to the back hall door, opening it and shutting it behind her as she descended down the stairs to the basement, smiling when her eyes landed on the one thing that could brighten her day any day.

A portal. A giant, human size portal that sat smack dab in the middle on the room. "Let's see what everyone has been up to."

* * *

There are many, many things that, despite what everyone thought, Skylanders were not immune or resilient to. Like pain for instance. No one was immune to that. Everything felt pain once in a while whether they had flesh or metal body or made out of rocks and even an undead body could feel pain if it dug deep enough into the body in a certain area. And there were many types of pain that could hurt physically and socially. Often there were debates of which hurt more. Social pain did hurt as much as a physical pain if the words stung old memories that hurt to remember. So it was questionable to know which hurt more than the other.

Pain really didn't come to him often as his body was made entirely out of metal and steel with wiring and circuitry boards. No pink flesh or squishy organs, just gears and springs. There were some benefits to being a robot like having no need for food or air that fleshies need to live. No, he just needed a bit of electricity to get him going. But moreover, pain. Fleshy beings always feel a limit of pain that was hard to describe that he could not relate to. Cuts and scrapes on the surface? He wouldn't feel such a thing or even notice till he got a good look at himself. Bruises? Never had a bruise before, but dents counted right? Broken bones? Kind of like having a bent limb that wasn't suppose to bend there but still, no pain felt what so ever. A strong force of mass power that strikes directly at your most valued and highly important circuitry? Well, if you just happen to run into Night Shift on one of his 'day's', then yes, he felt pain. Bad. But luckily he didn't need to wait like fleshies did for his body to heal. Just spare parts and help from Spy Rise or someone who was good with a tool.

But physical pain didn't hurt so bad as words. Oh, how he wished to have a different fate than what he had. First thing that was said to him when he first awoke was the most painful and hurtful thing he'd ever heard in his inter life. Freak. Oh how he wanted to shut down forever after hearing that. Even before he knew what it meant. Freak. He hated hearing that word. It just reminded him why he was not like the other Ultrons years ago, before he was a Skylander. The magnets on his head only served as a reminder as well. Why? Why did they create him with such…defect? Even though it had somewhat saved him from the extinction of his kind when he was banished for having no control over them back then, it didn't make him feel any better. Freak. It made him feel horrible. Even if he was exiled, even if they saw him as a freak, the Ultron city was his home, and seeing it in ruins with no one left alive just tore his robotic heart in half. He could of cried if he was made out of flesh like the others. And the whispers, the things that others say about his kind behind his back only made it hurt more.

Still, as much as he knew and felt about pain, he didn't know which hurt more. Hurtful words or ear splitting high pitched girlish screams that hurt his highly sensitive processors that he was sure to go deaf?

Probably the second one.

And probably scared the undead life out of Rattle Shake when babyfied Freeze Blade was torn away from his arms the moment that most of the girl residents in the room saw him. Forget lasers and big brute Trolls. Those screams were killer! Literally!

Hand on his head as he groaned in pain from hearing the banshee screams, Magna Charge went over to Rattle Shake, who was frozen in shock. "What makes a girl scream so loudly?" He asked, stopping beside the snake as he looked at the crowd of female Skylanders cooing and giggling over the kitten as poor Freeze Blade hardly understood what was happening as he was petted, held, and cooed at by many girls. He felt bad for the toddler as he clearly didn't seem to want the attention, which could of been avoided if Rattle Shake hadn't gone to lounge room, thinking it was empty as it was three hours past noon while the others went to grab something to eat, which he was wrong about as it was occupied by Spotlight, Ninjini, Déjà Vu, Hex, Bat Spin, Chill, Punk Shock, and Echo.

"…eso fue un shock." Rattle Shake, finally gotten over the surprise, commented.

"Ooo! What a cutie~!"

"I wanna hold him! I wanna hold him!"

"Look at his tiny little fingers! They're so small!"

"What a fluff ball you are~! Yes you are!"

The two men could only stare as the female group held the tiny kitten hostage in their adoration. They had seen many weird things in the past, but this was the topper of it all. Magna Charge looked at Rattle Shake, disapproval written all over his face. "Nice going. You lost the kitten to a pack of girls."

Whipping his head to the Ultrons direction, Rattle Shake's fork tongue slipped in and out of his mouth as he narrowed his eyes at the robot. "It was not my intention, alright? Stink Bomb suggested that I could stay here and watch over him while they discussed what to do next. I didn't expect a baby-napping when I got here bueno?"

"Well how are we going to get him back?"

"Just ask them to give him back."

"Ask for who back?"

Both swappers quickly snapped their heads forward. Standing right in front of them was Hex, the dark witch of the Undead element, with her arms crossed and staring at them with a look that was cold as ice. "Well, I asked you a question."

The circuitry in Magna Charge's body froze. Next to Night Shift, Hex the next scariest Skylander that could freeze anyone in place with one slight glance. In an oddity, she wasn't all that bad once you got to know her, but could still scare the soul outta ya if you caught her on a bad day. Having spent a hundred years with Night Shift, anyone would think that the SWAP Force had an immunity to actually be scared of him. Wrong. The guys, though known the vampire well over a hundred years, could still be easily scared or spooked by the boxer. So in others words, he and Rattle Shake were very afraid of the sorcerous right now.

"…" Hex twisted her head to glance at the group. "…is that kit Freeze Blade?" She asked coolly.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Probably?"

"Maybe?"

Unamusingly, Hex sighed, walking away from the two to the group, snatching baby Blade up with her magic and levitated the kit to Rattle Shake. "Here, take him."

Rattle Shake didn't hesitate to comply, taking Freeze Blade in his arms. Immediately, Freeze Blade curled up into a ball, snuggling deep in the snake hold for protection and security.

A collective sound of whines emanated from the female group. "Hey! I didn't get a turn with him!" Punk Shock huffed, placing her hand to her hips. Mummers of agreement sounded out as each Skylander voiced her displeasure.

"Sorry ladies. You had enough play time with him." Rattle Shake turned tail, heading away from the room with Magna Charge right behind him.

"GET EM!"

* * *

"Brawl? You okay?" Cynder called out from the other side of the locked door. Roller Brawl, laying curled up on her bed, didn't answer. "Brawl, please, just open the door."

"Go away." Sighing, Roller Brawl rubbed at her eyes. Earlier, she had expected an answer, a reason not to worry, to get away from the chaos which was the Skylander academy, to hang out with Freeze Blade like he had promised once she returned. But no. She returned to hear that Freeze Blade had gotten himself into situation that possibly could endanger his life and that she wasn't allowed to see him.

She huffed, grabbing a pillow and burying her head underneath it. It wasn't true right? Freeze Blade had to be pranking her. He just had to be. But from all the pranks that he did, none where bad enough to endanger his life. She would get straight to the bottom of this. There was no way in Skyland would she just ignore something like this.

CRASH!

Quickly, she sat up, throwing the pillow off her and got her blades ready. She lowered them when she saw what, or who, crashed into her room. "Aria?"

Aria, getting herself off the floor and removing the shredded posters off herself, smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Getting better but still not there." She turned her focus to Roller Brawl, smiling even wider. "Hey Brawler! What's up?"

Roller Brawl stared at the human, then cast a downwards glance and sighed.

Taking note of her reaction, Aria went over to her friend, sitting down next to the vampire skater. "Brawl? You okay?"

She shook her head.

"Did something happen?"

A nod.

"…it wouldn't have anything to do with Freeze Blade, would it?"

Roller Brawl stayed still, looking more down cast than ever. Aria frowned, placing her hand on Roller Brawl's shoulder. "What happened?"

"…I…I don't know."

"Don't know? How can you not know?"

"I-I just…all I heard was that he was in a dire situation. I don't know the details."

Aria nodded her head, scooting closer to her friend. She was about to say something when the door burst open and Rattle Shake and Magna Charge ran in, slamming the door shut and panting hard as they leaned their backs on the doorway.

"…uh, hi?"

"Hola." Rattle Shake huffed, taking off his hat and wiping his head. He stopped though, blinking before looking at Aria, grinning big. "Aria! Hermosa chica! It is good to see you again!" He made his way over, placing his hat back on while tipping it in a…seductive manner. "If I'd known you would be coming, I would have set up a party for your arrival." He bowed.

Roller Brawl groaned, burying her face in her heads as Magna Charge just shook his head. This happened often when Aria visited. Rattle Shake would put on his 'charm' and try to woo her at each moment he had the chance.

Aria stared at the snake, long, before punching him on top the head.

…And failing. Same song and dance, but no chance.

"Whoooo."

"What was that?" Aria asked, blinking as she looked around. The room had seen better days. Posters, magazines, dirty clothes laid about this and there with the odd smell of sweat and makeup hung in the air. It was a wonder why and how only Roller Brawl stayed clean while her room was a mess.

"That, I believe dear Aria is Freeze Blade." Magna Charge pointed out, getting smacked on the head by the rattle on the end of the snakeslingers tail.

"Freeze Blade?" Instantly Roller Brawl looked around, hoping to find the speedstar. She didn't look long as her eyes spotted the grey furred feline in Rattle Shakes arms. As a tiny, small, big eyes, toothless baby shaking in fear in the snake's arms. Her mouth hung open. She at first began to doubt it was him, till their eyes locked. A split second turned into an eternity as she held her gaze with his. Sense and logic vanished as well as confusion and chaos. Nothing existed or mattered as they kept their eyes locked on each other. "…Eon."

"WHAT?!" The second of eternity ended as Aria suddenly stood up, staring directly at Rattle Shake with burning anger. "THAT KIT IS FREEZE BLADE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

Tears weld and ran down Freeze Blade's face as he began to cry.

"Now calm down Aria, you're scaring him." Rattle Shake backed away from her, rocking his body slowly to calm the five month old down.

"For the love of! Give him here!" Snatching Freeze Blade away, Aria seated herself on the bed, adjusting her hold on the tot to a more comfortable position. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out slowly, closing her eyes. " _Sleep my love, as the trees above protect you from the dark. A great river will watch you as you dream until dawn._ " She began to sing slowly, drawing out a few words slowly, pausing at the end. " _Sleep my love, close your eyes, and when you've awaken. The new day will bring to you a bright new world._ " She paused in her singing, taking a slow breath. Freeze Blade, still shedding tears, looked up at her, sniffing a bit. The song to him was strange and new, but somewhat slow, relaxing and calm. " _Sleep my love as the birds above do rest their weary wings. Let the rain play a gentle song to help your dreams sing._ _Sleep my love close your eyes and when you've awaken._ " Freeze Blade felt his eyes go heavy. He yawned, rubbing his eye tiredly. Did he always feel this way? " _The new day will bring to you a bright new world. Ever so gently hear my voice. Ever so softly feel my touch._ " Aria ran her fingers gently across Freeze Blades visible fur, grabbing his tiny hand gently between her thumb and forefinger, rubbing it softly. The soothingness of the song and the soft feel of her touch relaxed him more and his eyes began to droop. " _Always so gently I walk. So go to sleep._ " Yawning one last time, he snuggled closer to Aria, shutting his eyes slowly. " _My love._ "

All three Skylanders stared at the portal master, gawking at how well and how easily she had calmed the tike down.

"…What? I've had experience with kids before, okay?"

Magna Charge, getting out of his shock, smiled a bit, wheeling his way over. "That was…amazing. What song was that?"

"Oh, just a song that I usually sing to put kids to sleep." She petted the soft patch of fur on Freeze Blade's cheek, smiling at the kit. "It also helps me calm down a bit so I can think things through."

He nodded.

"So, why is he a baby?"

"…it's a long story."

* * *

 **CHAPTER! IDEAS! NEEDED! PLEASE! HELP! REVIEW! PM! ANYTHING! JUST SEND YOUR IDEAS! PLEASE! DO IT FOR BABY FREEZE BLADE! DO IT IF YOU LOVE HIM!  
**

 **Gsrh hglib rh ufoo lu wiznz, gszmp tllwmvhh rg'h mlg z oznz. Zh rg tlvh lm, dszg droo yv wizwm? Ml lmv pmldh, zh gsv xlow glfxsvh blfi glvh. Z eznkrivh givzhfiv rh hlnvgsrmt gl slow, yfg yvdziv uli gsv xldziwh dsl lmxv girvw gl hgvzo gsv givzhfiv dviv lnxv ylow.**


	8. The Spyder Has a Turn

_Lunrav14: Yeah, Freeze Blade is pretty cute isn't he? I'm glade that you love it so far.  
_

 _CrimsonTrainer-4395: Rattle Shake can't help it, he a womenisher through and through. I have more pairings in this story. Betcha can't guess who I see is paired up with who~ That's a good idea on having Kaos finding out. Probably can put that in the later chapters.  
_

 _Fangirl-Does-Write: I am patient. I can wait for you to come up with ideas, don't worry.  
_

 _ianon2013: Hmmm, not a bad thought. I'll have to find a way to put that in the story.  
_

 _LiteFox: Looks like someone is happy to see Magna Charge in the story. Night Shift isn't hogging the baby! He's just being too overprotective. Mommy Tessa, hmmm, I'll have to find a way to put that in there. Blast Zone + cuddles = someone on fire. Hmm. I think I might know how he can carry out the fluffy bits._

 _Sorry it took so long, but here it is! The next chapter!Your requests have been answered and here it is for you to read! Enjoy~  
_

* * *

 _"_ _Stupid piece of metal. Why can't you just—AAAAUUUUUGGGG! Why can't you just bend the way I need you to be?!" Spy Rise huffed, running his free hand over his unprotected head as his headgear sat on his lap, trying harder to get the needed gear in place with just the tools he had brought along with him. In all honesty, he knew that he should have brought more tools with him, but in a rush he had just brought along what he could grab when he was dragged out of his lab. Really, couldn't they have just waited for the next ship to take them to…to…toooo… "Where are we going again?" He looked up from his work at his leader._

 _Wash Buckler, lean back on his seat on a crate with his hat over one side of his face, one arm behind his head and the other resting across his midsection as his tentacles hung off the edge in a drooped manner, lazily opened one eye and looked at him. "Hmm?"_

 _"_ _Where are we going?" He asked again, slowly._

 _Wash Buckler yawned, stretching himself before going back into his regular position. "Don't remember?"_

 _"_ _No. And I would like to know why you had Fire Kraken drag me away from my work in such a rush. **This**." He held his head gear out. "Is very delicate equipment."_

 _"_ _Fix it later." Wash Buckler mumbled, closing his eyes slowly. "Wake me when we're there."_

 _"_ _But—!" He knew it was no use. Once the squid had closed his eyes, he was out. Spy Rise groaned once the snores reached his ears. This happened often. When things were slow and nothing happens for ten to eleven seconds, Wash Buckler dozed off before you could say anything. It happened to the others as well if things were slow. Grilla Drilla would often lumber around or groom himself if there wasn't anything to do, Rubble Rouser would possibly eat some rocks or spar against Doom Stone to keep the Stonesapian moving and busy, Blast Zone would help Stink Bomb tend his small garden…then quickly buy some flowers that were the same ones he'd accidentally burned as an apology. Sunbathing was what the reptiles on their team did on a slow day, quiet rare for the duo on Fire Kraken's note since the small dragon was always ready to jump on the move. Night Shift would always do what he did best on a slow day, punching the lights out of someone or reading the newspaper, and Trap Shadow went off somewhere doing…something. The Air element of their team would do some sort of stunt, Hoot Loop would do some small tricks to show off, and Freeze Blade—_

 _"_ _COMING THROUGH!"_

 _Was all that he had for a warning before a blur of grey and navy blue zoomed past him, followed closely by a red and dark grey colored blur. Catching his head gear before it slipped out of his grasp in startlement, Spy Rise looked out on the deck where the blurs were heading._

 _Freeze Blade, laughing as he sped ahead, dodging crates, barrels, and Skylanders, sticking out his tongue in a playful, childish manner. "Come On Maggie! Keep Up!" He taunted playfully._

 _Magna Charge followed after the cat in hot pursuit, laughing in pure delight as he dodged running into a barrel. "You Won't Be So Confident Once I Catch Up To You!"_

 _"_ _In Your Dreams!" Freeze Blade laughed, speeding past Trap Shadow._

 _"_ _And the once peaceful ship has now become a speed ring." Spy Rise huffed, placing his headgear back on its rightful place on his head. Watching the two, he couldn't help but feel a little admiration and a bit of jealousy. Even after living for a hundred years, Freeze Blade still had that special corizma like a young child. Free spirited, fun loving, friendly, open, curious. And trouble making. But good to have as a friend._

 _"_ _SYPDY!"_

 _"…_ _oh n—OMPH!" His body took a sharp arch to the left, falling off his seat on the barrel to landing on his side on the ground. A mixture of a pained groan and annoyed huff left his mouth as he laid there._

 _"_ _Hey Spy Rise! Are you excited?! I'm excited! This is exciting! This is like an adventure! Only it's not an adventure! But it's still really exciting! There's going to be lots of stuff! An-And new things! And new places! Do you want to explore with me when we get there?! Do you think we'll make new friends?! Wash said that there'll be plenty of people to make friends with and I'm getting pumped to meet them! And and! Wash said that we get to meet some new Skylander buddies and see new things and a new environment! And and! New stuff!"_

 _He laid there as Fire Kraken kept talking, half not caring to listen and the other half begging him not to listen to the dragon go on and on. Still, as a spy it was a part time duty to listen, picking up any info that could prove to be useful later on…or an extreme torture habit. "That's very nice Fire Kraken, but could you stop talking for just a t_ iii _ny moment and GET OFF OF ME!"_

 _Fire Kraken blinked, looking down at him before smiling sheepishly and climbing off the tech. "Sorry." His smile grew as Spy Rise hoisted himself onto his feet. "Isn't this exciting?! We get to go to someplace new and different and—"_

 _"_ _Yes, yes. And things to see and all that." He interrupted, adjusting his headgear. "And I don't suppose you know where we're going?"_

 _"_ _Yeah I do! The Skylander Academy!"_

 _He did a double take. Did he hear that right? "The…what?"_

 _"_ _The Skylander Academy!" Fire Kraken repeated, coiling his tail behind him and started to bounce. "Don't cha remember? Wash Buckler said that we're going to see the construction site of the place since it's nearly complete and we get to explore most of the place before they finish building it!" Fire Kraken said with enthusiasm, bouncing higher and higher as he kept talking about the academy. "And the best part!" He landed on his feet, shaking his fists close to his chest like he was trying to contain his excitement. "There's going to be new Skylanders there to meet! O! O! Maybe if we're lucky we might run into the Trap Team!"_

 _Spy Rise blinked, soaking in this new info like sponge. How could he have missed this? Was he not told any of this? "Why wasn't I informed of this?"_

 _The enthusiasm drained from Fire Kraken's face, looking at Spy Rise in confusion. "You don't remember? Wash told everyone about it yesterday. You were there."_

 _"…_ _he did?" He thought back, trying to remember ever being told about this academy._

 _"_ _Yeah, though, you were kinda out of it at the time."_

 _Out of it? Then it clicked. Now he remembered. Grilla Drilla and Doom Stone were helping Tessa move heavy objects around in the courtroom when Wash Buckler came bursting into the room, startling the two to drop a chest on top his head while he was distracted looking over the records. That would explain why he didn't know about this academy, and why his head throbbed and his headgear needed fixing. "Ah, I see. So." Cupping his hands behind him, he walked past the firework marker to the railing of the ship. "What part of Cloudbreak are they building it at?"_

 _"_ _It's not in Cloudbreak silly!" Fire Kraken hopped over to him. "It's in Skyland!"_

 _"_ _WHAT?!" That caught his attention. Now grant it, he had traveled far and wide, exploring, searching for his father far and wide Cloudbreak back then, but never in his life had he ever left Cloudbreak Island before, including or not including the time he and his team were banished to earth for a hundred years._

 _"_ _What?" Fire Kraken stared at him, tilting his head to one side._

 _"_ _N-nothing! Just." He cleared his throat, regaining his composure quickly. "Wasn't expecting the academy to be…out of Cloudbreak."_

 _Smiling, Fire Kraken started to jump on his tail again. "Yeah, isn't it exciting? There'll be new stuff to see that isn't in Cloudbreak that we get to see for the first time! And none of us have been out of Cloudbreak before!"_

 _"_ _Scratch that info Krak." Freeze Blade, overhearing their conversation, skated over to them, doing the moonwalk as he passed them. "Me and Blast didn't originally live in Cloudbreak, and neither did Maggie."_

 _"_ _True. But you used to live at Frozen Wastelands of Vesh, which is in Cloudbreak." Spy Rise pointed out._

 _"_ _Whatever!" With that, the speedstar twisted around, speeding off again._

 _Spy Rise sighed, leaning against the rails. "Eon above, help me."_

 _"_ _Look! There it is!" Fire Kraken pointed._

 _Following where he pointed, he blinked in assessment. On a far island, a building, almost complete and standing tall with glory was the Skylander academy, almost finished with just a few parts here and there to complete._

 _"_ _Welcome to Skylander Academy, here to train future Skylanders for years to come." Wash Buckler said, coming up beside him and smiled at the sight of the approaching island._

 _Spy Rise glanced at him for a split second before looking back at the building. A few moments later, the ship came to a stop at the dock._

 _"_ _BOOM! Prefect landing! And it's all thanks to the best pilot in all of Skylands."_

 _He rolled his eyes as he headed off the boat with the rest of his team. He had to admit, this place was interesting, as well as intriguing. Surely there could be a few places he could be interested to look at? Everyone else had gone off to do so, so why not? Heading off, he took note of things as he passed by._

 _Main Entry- Big enough for a giant to walk in and move around with ease. Two stairs, one on the left and the other on the right, both leading up to the higher level of the building._

 _Brock's Arena- Not finished. This Brock fellow seems friendly. Could use a breath mint once in a while though._

 _Persephone- A nice fairy, easily located outside the building. Confusingly, she seems to be the upgrade here that replaces the upgrade magic pod in Cloudbreak. Interesting._

 _Library- **HEAVEN!**_

 _Kitchen- Big. Large. So much food. Mantel note, make sure to keep Trap Shadow away from the meat and hide any sugar as best as possible. Also, make sure to tell the cooks to save any blood droplets to quell Night Shifts and Roller Brawls thirst._

 _Looking around, Spy Rise smiled. Most of the place had met his acceptance. "This place can certainly be—" He wasn't watching where he was going, running into someone which ended both of them on the ground. "Oh I'm so s—" He started, holding out a hand for the other person to take and help them to their feet, when he got a good look at the person._

 _Or more say, the robot._

 _"_ _It's alright, I wasn't looking where I was going." The robot smiled, taking his hand in her sleek white hand, smiling at him. "It happens when you're focused on something else."_

 _"_ _Uh, right." He smiled back, helping the ro—HER, up. "But still, I should have been more careful. I'm not quite familiar with this place yet."_

 _"_ _You're not?" She asked, looking down at him as she was taller than him._

 _"_ _No, I just arrived from Cloudbreak an—"_

 _"_ _Cloudbreak?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, the Cloudbreak Islands. Anyway, me and my team have just come by to look at the building, we'll be leaving shortly."_

 _She frowned. "You are?"_

 _"_ _Yes. As much as this place seems interesting enough, I don't trust any of my teammates to be responsible enough not to break anything while this building is still under construction. We, uh, aren't very careful with too many stuff."_

 _"_ _I see. Are you perhaps Spy Rise?"_

 _He blinked, staring at the she bot in surprise. "…yes. How did you—?"_

 _"_ _I knew it." She lend down slightly, just enough for her eyes to be at the same level as his. "I've heard a bit about you and your team." She smiled at him. "Is it true that you guys can swap your lower halves? And is it true you're over a century old? Does it hurt when you swap? Does it feel weird to have different lower halves? How does your swapping work—"_

 _"_ _Please! Please! One question at a time!" He back away, holding up his hands. "Please, just, slow down a little."_

 _The female robot shook her head, smiling apologetically. "My apologies. It's just, I've wanted to meet one of you swappers when I've first heard of you."_

 _Spy Rise blinked. "R-really?"_

 _"_ _Yes…is there a problem with that?"_

 _"_ _N-no! It's just, usually when someone hears about us they tend to…avoid us in a way." He huffed, remembering how some of the younger generations of Skylanders would often avoid him and his team because of their…mishaps. "I've just never met someone who would want to meet us."_

 _"_ _Oh. Well I must be the first then." She giggled._

 _He stared at her, transfix solely on her. Never in his hundred year life had he met someone who was so interested in meeting him. In fact, she really was the first who wanted to meet him. It was…nice._

 _"_ _Spy Rise?"_

 _"_ _Spy Rise?"_

" **SPY RISE!** "

A sharp lasting pain was added to his head, snapping him out of his memory. "OW!" Grabbing his head painfully, he glared at his assaulter. "What was that for?!"

Sprocket smiled, laying her wrench on her shoulder. "Nothing."

"I don't like that look you're giving me."

"Well I didn't like the look you were giving to Gearshift!"

He frowned at her, but said nothing. Turning away from her, Spy Rise glanced at the present Skylanders in the room. Drobot was sitting next to Cobra Cadabra, talking about something to the snake charmer that he couldn't pick up at. Enigma stood not too far away from him, having an open book levitate in front of him. And Gearshift was by a window, glancing outside. The sun was making her glow more brilliant by the sec—

"Yo Spy! Wake up!" Sprocket shouted, hitting him again with her wrench.

"I have half of mind to take that away from you!" He glared at her while rubbing his sore head.

"Why? It wouldn't be fun to hit you without it." She stuck out her tongue.

Spy Rise growled under his breath, turning his focus to the doors as they opened. Spyro walked in, followed by Blastermind and Voodood.

"Alright." Spyro turned his focus to the present Skylanders. "Now, you all may be wondering why I called you here. A few of you know the reason why. Earlier today, I was informed of some…trouble with the SWAP Force—"

"AH HA!" Spy Rise nearly jumped when a finger was jammed at his face. "I knew it! You guys are always getting into trouble! I just knew meph!"

"Go on." Gearshift politely smiled an apology at the dragon as she kept her hand over Sprocket's mouth.

"…some sort of incident has happened to one of them, and it would be a grateful help if you can help…reverse this mishap."

"And what is this _mishap_ you speak of?" Drobot asked. "Anything that involves _them_ is a mishap."

Spy Rise glared slightly at Drobot, but said nothing, knowing that the dragon tech genius was right. His team was…not the best.

"And _they_ just happen to be the reason why Skylands still has magic. Both to today and from a hundred years ago." Gearshift pointed out, not noticing the small smile on Spy Rise's face.

"So, what is the trouble friend?" Cobra Cadabra asked, looking directly at him. "Which of your friends has gotten into trouble?"

"…weeell…"

* * *

"…babyfied…by a gun?"

Rattle Shake sighed, pinching the area between his eyes. "Sí, that's what I've been saying for the last thirty times already."

"But, that doesn't make any sense." Aria shook her head, crossing her arms. "How could that possibly turn him into a baby?"

"Five month old actually." Magna Charge pointed out, dangling a piece of yarn in front of Freeze Blade as Roller Brawl held him. "He's not technically a baby and more considered a toddler at this age."

"Whatever, just…how?"

Magna Charge only shrugged.

Freeze Blade, ogling at the yarn in front of him, grabbed at it, trying to stuff it into his mouth. He wouldn't get far in that task as the pretty thing kept pulling it away from his mouth. Freeze Blade turned his head to whine at the pretty thing, but when he looked at it, he gargled, hiding his face in his hands.

Seeing this little action, Magna Charge laughed a little. "Looks like someone till has a crush on you."

A small smile crossed on Roller Brawl's face. Tickling the underside of the tots arms, her smile grew when baby Blade squealed out in joy and tried to wiggle out of her hold in a giggling fit. "And where do you think you're going little mister?" She asked, picking him up and placing a kiss on his cheek, making him laugh louder and reach for her face.

"Okay." Aria stood up off the bed. "So, you guys have no clue why he turned into a kid, or how to change him back."

"Sí."

"And basically, from past knowledge of you guys, you hardly know how to take care of a toddler, correct?"

"Sí."

With a frustrated sigh, she threw her hands up, letting them fall to her sides. "Unbelievable. This tops the rodeo incident."

"How was it even possible for a clown, bull, and a few dozen barrels of ice cream to somehow be flung on top of a building with just a hat and then make the whole thing explode from jelly?" Roller Brawl questioned.

Magna Charge just shrugged. Even he and Spy Rise couldn't explain how it happened. No one could. It was day that could not be explained, thanks to the SWAP Force. A day that topped all the other days. Like that one time Stink Bomb was in one of his moods, and decorated half of Woodburrow in flowers and acted all frilly. Or the one time Fire Kraken wanted to bake a cake, and somehow ended up having a food fight in the kitchen with the whole gang, making a mess out of the place and getting Spy Rise's nerves shot. And that other time where they all got stuck in a hole. That was it. They all fell and got stuck in a hole for five hours before help came and got them out.

"No clue, but I'm sure that this little problem can be solved eas—"

The door swung open, hitting against the wall as Spy Rise came marching in with a storm of fury all over his face, sizing Freeze Blade, and marching out without a word said to them.

"…ily?"

* * *

"That was rude of you." Gearshift huffed, glaring at the Orc on the ground, laughing his guts out and pounding the stone with his fists. "This could be serious!"

Voodood continued to laugh, holding his sides for dear life as tears started to run down his face. "Ppphhttt! Serious?! PHTHAHAHAHA! D-Do you really believe him w-when he claims that one of his teammates turned into SNK! PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"If Spyro had to summon us, then yes! I do believe this is serious!"

"Gearshift." Blastermind, trying to hold in his laughter, hovered over to his friend. "I don't mean to offend Spy Rise or your judgment. But even you must admit that this is really ridiculous."

"Affirmative." Drobot agreed. "Even I find this news highly insulting and absurd. No possible life form can just simply age backwards and be stuck in a young state. Not even Déjà Vu can perform such task."

"Even magic has set backs and high risks for a de-aging spell. No such thing like that could exist." Cobra Cadabra informed.

"But even you guys have to admit there are many things which we can't explain." Gearshift looked at them coolly. "Like when Voodood turned purple that one time."

Hearing that incident, Voodood slightly choked on the air for a moment, coughing slightly. "That was mistake. Said wrong words to a spell and such."

"Or that one time one of Drobot machines went wild."

"An irrelevant error. The coding was not up to date and backfired violently."

"Or when everything in the academy was on the ceiling."

"My bad. Wasn't quiet thinking clearly and I accidentally thought of what every object would be like upside down." Blastermind chuckled, rubbing his arm in embarrassment of the memory.

"Point is weird things happen to us that can't be explained too well. It doesn't just happen to the SWAP Force, it also happens to the giants, us trappers, and even the originals!"

"Gearshift's right." Sypro looked at the robot. "Unexplained things do happen. To all of us."

"Or more so with the SWAP Force." Voodood snorted, getting off the ground. "Look, Voodood don't want to sound bad and all, but this 'turning into a five month old' seem unreal." He rolled his eyes, making air quotes to the mention of the problem. "Now Voodood is going out to look for more bones that are interesting enough to add to Voodood's collect—" He twisted around, coming nose to nose with a tiny big eyed grey furred face that stared at him intently through a navy blue mask. "…tion."

Spy Rise held the five month old out, glaring at the Orc as if daring him to make fun of him right now. In a way, he knew that telling them about the problem at hand would be hard to convince them, but being the laughing stock of their disbelief he certainly would not take. It was much too important to get Freeze Blade back the way he was pronto.

"…oh my…you weren't kidding." Blastermind mumbled, floating closer to the tech to get a better look at the toddler.

"Ya think?" Spy Rise huffed.

Sprocket, being the only one to have doubts yet curios enough to believe the situation or not, walked over to the group, flipping her googles up and revealing her green eyes. She stared at the kit, slowly smiling. "Hi there cutie." She cooed, making a motion to pet him.

"Ah ah." Spy Rise pulled baby Blade closer, holding him protectively in his arms. "Those who didn't believe me don't get to hold the toddler." He huffed, earning a few groans of protest. "Sorry, but you didn't believe me when I told you."

"I believed you." Gearshift smiled, walking up to him. "You always have had a streak for telling the truth to friends."

Spy Rise was really, _really_ glad that robots couldn't blush. "Uh…heh."

* * *

After getting the facts straightened out, and once again telling them that they could not hold the kitten, it was the matter of trying to figure out how and the possible way to reverse Freeze Blade's condition. It was his main focus…or would be.

"Who has a ticklish tummy? Who does? You do~. Yes you certainly you~."

Spy Rise tried in his hardest not to stare at Gearshift as she sat on the ground, tickling the tot's belly, making him laugh out in giggling fits and tried to roll on his belly in an attempt to escape. It was a proving way that he just couldn't focus on his work, and was repeatingly distracted by both Gearshift's beauty, and minor jealousy of Freeze Blade getting the trappers attention. All and all, it was at least bearable to have the two as company in his lab, even though Spyro had insisted that he should work with the others to help. But after being laughed at, he declined, agreeing to let the others help by gathering some information or a possible way to fix this mess.

"Oh, aren't you a cutie~" Gearshift cooed, picking up the toddler and rubbing her face against his, not noticing the jealous look on Spy Rise's face.

Freeze Blade giggled. Earlier he would've whined and cried, not liking the fact that the hard thing had taken him away from his pretty thing and shoved him at an ugly green thing. But he quickly forgot all about being angry at the hard thing when his tummy got tickled by the white hard thing. His giggling increased when it tickled the underside of his arms.

"Ooooh, aren't you adorable? You almost make me wish I had a child with someone."

"WHAT?!"

"Kidding~ Kidding~"

Spy Rise sighed for a moment. He would never get any work done at this rate.

Gearshift lifted baby Blade up high, making silly faces at the tike, causing him to laugh. "Reeaaady? Bounce!" She gently tossed him a few centimeters in the air, carefully catching him as he came down.

Roars of giggles erupted from Freeze Blade as he was in midair for a short while before he was back in the white hard things grasp again, laughing harder when it did the same move again. The first couple of bounces were the prime joy of his entertainment, but after a few more of those bounces, he felt…off. His stomach felt ill and sickly, getting worse at each bounce of going up and then back down. It no longer seemed fun to him, and it was worse that the white thing didn't seem to be noticing that he had stopped laughing for a few seconds now. A small sickly moan emanated from his mouth as he was bounced again. He did not feel too good. Suddenly, Freeze Blade started to feel something crawl up his throat.

Gearshift stopped bouncing the five month old when he started to emanated small strange noises, followed close by the motion of puffing his cheeks. "What's wrong sweetie?"

Spy Rise looked away from the screen of his computer, looking at the duo when it got oddly quiet. His eyes widened when he saw Freeze Blades cheeks puff up, recalling the not so fond memory of his father telling him exactly what his babyfied friend was about to do. Before he could warn the trap master, white liquidy substance with a mixture of mushed cookie left from Freeze Blades mouth and splattered itself onto Gearshift's legs. Immediately he was at her side, cringing in disgust at the mess that Freeze Blade made, swiftly taking the tike into his arms. "Oh my gears, I'm so sorry! I-I saw what he was about to do a-and I wasn't fast enough to warn you! I-I am so sorry!"

Gearshift, frozen in a minor shock, blinked, wide eyed and stiff.

"L-let me get you a towel." Setting the dazed toddler down next to Gearshift, he scurried off to the far section of his lab where it was barely touched by any of his inventions that happen to go rouge and out of control. It was an ideal place to keep hefty supplies for emergencies like first aid, towels, aspirin in case Wash Buckler or Fire Kraken decided to visit, shields – _don't ask why,_ _just don't, it's better if you didn't know why he has them_ -, and a few knick knacks here and there with spare tools. Grabbing a clean towel and a few wet wipes, he raced back over to Gearshift. "Here."

Slowly, she took the items. "…t-thank you." She quietly whispered, proceeding to clean herself off of the baby vomit.

"I am terribly sorry." Spy Rise apologized, picking up baby Blade and placing him against his shoulder, rubbing his back gently. "I had no idea that he would do that. I-it just happened so quickly that—"

"No no. It's fine." Gearshift smiled at him, wiping the last remains of the baby vomit off. "Though, to be fair, I believe I got carried away with bouncing him. I should have been more careful."

"B-but."

"It's fine Spy." Gearshift smiled, placing a hand on his other shoulder, making him freeze up. "It was just accident and a little mess, nothing that can't be handled easily."

Spy Rise nodded, his cheeks getting warmer by the second.

"Now then, I guess we should be getting back to working for a cure for this little guy." Gearshift stood up, taking her hand off Spy Rise much to his dismay. "The quicker we get to it, the quicker we can fix him."

Spy Rise nodded, shifting his hold on baby Blade more securely.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into an hour then two, yet despite how much time and effort they put into their work, nothing showed up on explaining Freeze Blades transformation.

Freeze Blade yawned, rubbing his covered eyes with the back of his hands as he sat under a scanner for the tenth time. The lights and blinky things were getting boring to see over and over again.

"Just hold still a little longer Freeze. The scan is just about done."

Gearshift, looking at the graphs at the screen, sighed. Two hours of trying to find the problem and nothing was showing itself. "Spy, maybe we should stop with the scans. There haven't been any abnormal signs in any of the last nine."

"I know, I know." Spy Rise stared at the scanner, biting down hard at his finger. "But this is the last and most important scan. I need to know if it's at the real root of the problem."

"But no of the others—"

"Have the ability to see what this one can." Spy Rise cut in, picking up the toddler once the scan was done. "Which is why, _and hope_ , that it really isn't what I fear it may be."

"And what's that?" Gearshift eyed the robot carefully, stepping aside to let him see the screen.

"His magic." He pressed a few buttons. "Or, more pacifically, the magic that's in him, me, and the rest of the gang." He looked at her. "The magic that gives us the ability to swap half's."

She nodded. "So, basically, you're…"

"Checking to see if the problem is in his swap magic? Yes." His eyes were on the screen again as the image of five month old baby Blade came up. A frown appeared on his face as he hummed, looking at the readings thoughtfully. "This is new."

"What? What is it?"

Spy Rise didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at Freeze Blade. The tot was half way to falling asleep, yawning again to expose his tongue and toothless gums. Spy Rise shifted his teammate carefully in his arms so that he was holding him in one arm while the other was free. Carefully, he checked the bandage around the kitten's neck, frowning more at the dirty dry blood that had managed to seep through. "I need to change his wound." He turned, heading off to grab a medical kit.

"Wait, what were you just talking about? What's new?" Gearshift followed after him. "Is it bad?"

"Not clearly, no." Spy Rise paused, turning to face her. "It's not concerning, or life threatening. Though, it seems as if his." He shifted Freeze Blade in a more comfortable position in his arms. "Swapping ability has gone a bit dormant."

"Dormant?"

"Yes. For how long I can't say. But one thing is to be sure, he's not going to be swapping with anyone any time soon."

Gearshift nodded.

"Can you hold him for a bit?" Spy Rise held the ice kitten out.

Gearshift complied, gently taking the tired toddler into her arms. "So other than that, there's really nothing that seems off, is there?"

"Nothing that we can find at the moment, no." Spy Rise searched through the items, digging out a med kit from behind some spare parts. "But I'm sure we can find the problem if we keep looking."

A small smile etched itself onto Gearshifts face, looking at Freeze Blade. "You're very determine."

"What?"

She looked at him, gazing her eyes solely on his. "You're determine. That's a good quality that not many people have. You never give up, you're always working to get things done, you never quit when others can't find a solution. You…you're very inspiring. Even with your team you always keep things straight and you never let anyone down." She looked at Freeze Blade, tracing her fingers gently across the sleeping kit's furry cheek. "That's something that I can see in you. Very, very much."

Spy Rise stared at her, taking in what she had just said. To others it was a compliment, to him? A love note. " _I love you_."

"What?" She looked back at him. "What did you say?"

"MED KIT!" He stiffened, holding the small red box out. "I said I found the med kit. Yeah."

"Oh. That's good." She smiled at him, walking up and taking the box from him. "I'll re-wrap the bandage, Okay?"

Spy Rise smiled, chuckling uneasily now that she just happened to be standing close to him. "U-uh, s-sure. N-no p-pro—"

" **SPY RISE! YOU BETTER NOT BE EXPERIMENTING ON HIM WITH YOUR CRAZY MACHINES OR YOUR WEIRD DO-DADS OR EON ABOVE I WILL POUND YOU INTO THE CENTURY!** "

"…Eon…why?" Spy Rise sighed, covering his face in one hand as Night Shift came through the door, dragging half of the team with him in a vain attempt to stop or slow him down.

* * *

 **Gsv hkrwvi szw srh ufm, mld sv rh lm gsv ifm. Wlwtrmt kfmxsvh sviv zmw gsviv, gslfts ylgs hkrwvi zmw yzg ziv fmzdziv. Gsrxp givvh zmw nlhhb tilfmw, gfimvw levi hglmvh zmw gdrhgrmt ermvh, gsv sfmgvi lu gsvhv kzigh ivgfih, drgs z orggov yfmwov lu rxb tivb yvgdvvm srh rilm qzdh.**

 **Key: A -Z**


	9. The Tiger Forest

_LiteFox: That's right! I have returned! And Spy Rise mischief was insured! By the way, did you crack my secret message?_

 _SnowPrincess20: Yes, it would be bad if he found out…_

 _CrimsonTrainer-4395: Smashing their heads together would not help at all Crim. Is it alright if I call you Crim? I won't use it if you don't like it._

 _Fangirl-Does-Write: A playmate huh? Hmm…well, I can be clear that Freeze Blade should get a playmate, but not another babyfied Skylander. One is enough for now._

 _Guest: I'm not good at spelling okay?_

 _Alright! New chapter is up! Has anyone cracked my last two messages in the last two chapters? If so, good for you! They give out 'clues' to this story that might give you an idea for what I have in store for the next chapter if no one has ideas._

 _Warning: A bit of Freeze Blades past is about to be revealed. PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR IT!_

* * *

There are rules in this world. Rules to help and guide while others that just plain annoy you. There are rules such as how to stay safe, or what to do in a certain event or how to do things the right way. It was kinda like work, only with limits and they were just words on paper or stone. But, hey, he could live with that. If it involved work to do, he wouldn't care. Aside from rules, there also happened to be commands. He had a sort of like/dislike of commands. Like one could be easy command and the other could be an impossible task of trying to stop Night Shift from chasing after Spy Rise and do elements knows what to the robot if he caught him.

But there was a fine line of stopping an enraged vampire to being dragged along with half of the team that barely seemed to slow the boxer down even by a tiny bit. To say the least bit of perspective, it was strange sight to see one team member dragging half of his team along as he chased after another team member. And his thoughts on this? Nothing out of the ordinary. Though he did kind of feel bad for Spy Rise a bit.

"This almost feels like the good ol' days, eh Doomy?"

He couldn't help but agree with his follow stone friend. It almost felt like yesterday that he and the team were guarding the ancient volcano. Nights around the campfire, sharing stories and jokes, getting to know everyone better, pulling a few pranks here and there, fighting against evil and a lot of times each other, forming an unbreakable bond. It was hard to believe those days were a century ago. A whole century of nothing but being frozen like stone, the way he used before he was brought to life by the wizard.

"Now Night Shift, we can talk this through!"

"BA! Talking is for the more cowardly fools! Fighting is the real solution!"

A non-visible brow went high on his stony grey face. He was always told/reminded that Night Shift was once a baron, one of those fancy living rich noblemen, er, vampire. The only things he had learned about high states people when he still worked for the wizard that created him weren't very good to hear, like they were greedy, snobbish, looking down at others like trash and only valued themselves and higher people to be the real rulers of stander living, wanting only the fancy and high class way of living while never rising a finger to do manual labor in their whole lives. Even his old master had a distaste for those who lived the good life and have never worked a day in their lives, though the irony of it the wizard was quiet lazy in his work as well, but still he did more work compared to them.

And he too had the same view on them, only having true views on those who worked hard to earn their titles and struggled through many hardships. But when he had met Night Shift, hearing that he was once a baron himself, immediately thinking he was only joining to be a Skylander for fun like any other baron, he never was prepared to see someone from the high statures throwing away his chance at a good life to prefer a life of boxing and hating the slight mention of his previous life in any sort of way. Or seeing the shine in his eyes that truly separated him from other barons when he was out in battle. It took a while, but he warmed up to the vampire, even having a few spar sessions with him.

"If you're lookin' for a fight, try findin' it in the arena!"

The sound of drill feet scraping against the floor had nothing of the same sound of when the drills were digging in the ground. He knew, he had known the digger well and far better than the rest of his team. His love of finding ways of improving work combined with his love of working clashed perfectly together; along with their daily spar time against each other to sharpen their skills deepened their bond greatly. Being made of stone had nothing to do with anything. It was their personalities that really brought them close together as pals.

The hearty laugh his friend had, the battles he would happily join in if it got too rough, he could even share a bit of love for stone eating, though he would leave the stone eating to the digger and preferred to do more of the battling himself.

Night Shift twisted his head to look at Rubble Rouser straight in the eye, baring his fang and gave a low, threatening thundering growl. The Rock Golem barely flinched from the semi death threat right in front of him, but deep down the Stonesapian knew he was trembling in fear. And just who wouldn't feel fear when Night Shift was angered and possibly was out for someone's blood? Granted, he and his rock fellow didn't really have any blood, but that didn't stop the vampire from sinking his teeth in them. That doubled the fear he etched into them and the team and anyone else. There was simply no Skylander who could simply not be afraid of the boxer.

…well, then again, there are two of which didn't tremble under his icy glare and hot temper. One of them happened to be a five month old at the moment and the other—

Instinctively, his arm reacted before he could even think about bringing it up, holding his shield out in protection as a black boxing glove that was aimed at his face hit against the impenetrable stone which, on impacted, his grip on the belt shook and slipped, losing hold on the vampire and falling to the ground. Shuffling a groan as he lifted himself onto his arms, he soon found himself being helped up by a pair of black finger-less spike knuckled gloved hands. No one needed to be a detective to figure out that Rubble Rouser had also been a boxing glove target and had dodged the attack but had also lost his grip on Night Shift as well.

"Feisty fella. Wonder wha' he'll do to our four legged friend if he catches him." He smirked halfheartedly as he helped him up.

"Knowing him? Probably punch Spy Rise into a pile of scrap metal and wires." He half grinned at his friend before a seldom look of slight worry mixed with tiredness crossed his face. "What has gotten into him? He's never shown this much aggression before. Even at us."

"Eh, I wouldn' worry too much about it." Rubble Rouser huffed, crossing his stony arms against his chest. "I think he's just acting out of a maternal instinct or something."

"Really? You think so?"

"It's clear as water!" He winked at him, nudging him a bit with his elbow. "Why else would he be over aggressive at us? It's like a boar with its youn', chargin' at any sign of danger to protect her family."

"But, Night Shift isn't a boar."

"Naw, and he ain't no mother either." Rubble Rouser chuckled, lightening the mood around them before a slight girlish yell and Night Shifts curses dampened it. "But, you have to admit, he's got tha' instinct in 'im." He twisted himself to the direction where the curses seemed to be the loudest, heading towards them. "Heck, given the right circumstance or situation, tha' instinct can pop up in anyone of us."

He followed after his friend, getting his shield ready just in case. "Really?"

"Yep! Tha' instinct is deep insid' all of us, waitin' till the day it can surface. But, ah, between you an' me." He dropped he voice low so that only he could hear. "I think Shift's red hot fury is blindin' him a bit. Can't seem to be thinkin' straight no more. Get wha' I'm sayin'?"

He nodded, rounding the corner and his shield was up again before he could react as a chair turned into splinters after hitting against the shield. He didn't have the chance to put it down as other items hit against it such as chairs, desks, books, and other items. Peeking over the rim of his shield, he watched as Spy Rise dodged and screamed for mercy as Night Shift tried to catch him, throwing a few punches at the tech here and there.

"PLEASE NIGHT SHIFT! I SWEAR I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO HIM! HONEST! I BARELY EVEN PRICKED HIS SKIN!" Spy Rise shouted, scurrying to the nearest wall and climbing on it to the top, thinking he would have safety there but only proved to be more of a challenge since Night Shift had mist for arms he could punch anything at great length away.

Rolling his eyes, he slowly went over to the vampire, keeping his shield up just in case. "Night Shift?" He reached out tentatively, tapping the vampire on the shoulder. Orbs of glowing white inner burning anger were on him, freezing him on the spot.

"What?" He growled, ice laced in his voice.

His throat tightened as his mouth formed a thin line. "Uh…" Was all he could manage to get out before he coward under the intense glare that was digging into his soul. And, quite sadly, his arm holding his shield wasn't quick enough to react this time when he got punched in the face…hard.

Stars and swirls were all he could see and his head felt light and dizzy. He didn't know which direction was what or thinking clearly in any matter. His hearing was on the blink as well, buzzing a high pitch whine in his head. He wasn't sure how long he was out of it, but as soon as he came to, the first thing he saw was a pair of eyes staring at him through a navy blue mask. He blinked, surprised to see someone up close to him.

"Hey! Good mornin'!" His eyes swiveled to the form of his fellow rock friend as he came up, picking the kit off his face. "Bout time you woke up. I was startin' to worry that you might hav' gone into a comma or something." He chuckled, shifting his hold on the frost kit to one arm and held out his other hand, offering to help him up. Hesitantly, he grabbed the hand, hoisting himself off the ground and back on his spinning columns, shaky and teetering a bit, but standing. "Easy now. Yer lucky that your face didn't get smashed in when Shift punched your jaw."

He nodded, rubbing his jaw. Now that he mentioned it, his face did sting a bit. "What happened?"

"Well, after our blood sucking friend knocked your lights out, he went back to casin' Spy, and succeeded in catchin' him, and punchin' 'im, and bitin' him, and twistin' one of his legs the wrong way till Wash came to the rescue, managing to restrain 'im long enough for the others to get Spy outta the way."

"Alright, so he managed to stop him?"

Rubble Rouser did a sharp intake, using his free hand to rub the back of his head. "Yeah. A _nnn_ d no."

CRASH!

Swiveling to the source of the sound, his eyes widened in disbelief. Tree Rex was on his back, flipped over so that his lower half was in the air as his upper half was on the ground.

"See, while Shift was casin' after Spy, he may or may not have been swingin' and punchin' a whole lot of fellas." Rubble Rouser grabbed his shoulder, leading him off to a certain direction.

He eyed his friend wearily, growing more curious and skeptical when his ears picked up the faint sounds of a fight going on, getting louder and louder as the three continued on.

"And those fellas…well."

They rounded a corner, and when they did, his jaw went firm. Inside the room, multiple Skylanders were fighting with each other. Some were fighting with friends, others with different generations, giants were brawling against lightcores, lightcores were fighting against trappers, trappers were fighting against the team –most notably with Night Shift-, the team was trying to help the trappers fight against Night Shift, Spyro was trying to stop the fight with little success, and a few Skylanders were helping drag their wounded friends over to a barrier and heal them with the help of—oh hey, it's Aria! Hadn't seen her in a while.

"Yeeeah." His focus went back to his friend. "Things got a little heated after he punche' a few of the leaders. After that it just turned into one big brawl after the next." He chuckled a bit.

A monotone sigh left his lips. Of course. A big battle breaks out and he was out on the side lines. Why was it that whenever his team got into some petty squabble it turned into an all-out brawl? "Hasn't anyone tried to stop this?"

"Pht! Doomy! You know how things work around here." Rubble Rouser chuckled, holding out the kit for him to take, which he did, carefully. "When there's a big brawl, it's useless to stop it." He quickly turned around, punching the oncoming Bash in the snout. "Besides." He grinned, picking up his discarded hammer by the wall. "It's more fun joinin' in!" He laughed, running into the foray with his hammer held high.

He could only watch in bewilderment and confusion as his friend disappeared into the crowd of battling Skylanders. It was only the small whimpers in his arms that snapped his attention away from the chaos to the grey furred kit. Freeze Blade cowered in his arms, shifting deep into his hold as his ear went flat against his head with his eyes glued to the fight.

"…let's get you out of here." He whispered gently, turning away from the mayhem and headed off.

* * *

Small. Tiny. Itty bitty. Fragile. Weak.

That's what he used to described what Freeze Blade's new tiny from to be. Personally, he'd didn't see any reason why anyone would start out so small and weak. Why not be born strong and big like he did? Okay grant it, he was carved out of stone and given life by magic, so he never really knew what it was like to be small or tiny like the others.

A sigh left him as he watched the tiny toddler crawl around on the floor of the library. To be clear, he didn't see the point of just carrying the toddler around in his arms a lot like the others. And grant it, Freeze Blade never did like to stay in one place for too long before he got bored and wandered off. So, in fairness, it was better to let the kid explore a bit, keeping a good eye on him of course.

Freeze Blade cooed, eyeing his new surroundings with intensive interest. There were so many new things to look at he didn't know where to start first! He babbled as he continued to crawl, looking over the many items he could see. This was fun! Or would be if the grey thing didn't follow him all around. Stopping for a bit, he looked behind him, meeting the gaze of the grey thing that continued to follow him where ever he went. He huffed, puffing out his cheeks to show his annoyance, going back to looking around again.

A frown etched itself on his face when he saw Freeze Blade puffing his cheeks out and quickly turned away from him. It was obvious that the tike didn't like his company at all. "News flash, I don't like watching over you either." He huffed to himself. He didn't expect for Freeze Blade to pause in his crawling and look back at him, ears up and turned to his direction. "…what?"

A coo left baby Blade mouth, tilting his head to one side.

"…acting cute isn't going to win me over."

Another coo, followed closely with the motion of sticking one of his hands in his mouth, proceeding to drool on it as he teethed.

The frown got deeper as he watched this action, rolling his eyes a bit, a habit he picked up from the gang. "Original."

Freeze Blade gargled, sitting down and continued to drool all over his hand.

"…are all toddlers like this?"

Freeze Blade giggled as he stuffed his other hand into his mouth, kicking his legs to the ground.

He watched, frowning the whole time. He didn't understand how anyone could find this cute, and, not be rude or anything, he never did find the reason to like cute things. In fact, he found them rather annoying if anything. "Okay, bedtime mister." He scooped up the toddler, turning to head off.

"Bo ba!" Freeze Blade suddenly chanted out, taking both his drool covered hands out of his mouth and waved them around.

He glanced at Freeze Blade, one brow going higher than the other. "What's got you in such a happy mood all of a sudden?"

Baby Blade blew a short raspberry, giggling in glee.

The brow went back down on his face. Clearly the tot just wanted to bug him in some way possible. "And bed, here we come." He huffed, making his way out of the library, getting out of the way of a running for his life Camo and a fuming Whirlwind covered in watermelon juice and pieces. With a roll of his eyes he continued on, making turns here and there, venturing further into the academy where no student was allowed.

Turning another corner, he was immediately bombarded with the fridge coldness in the air, and, though his body didn't produce any heat of its own and was made entirely out of stone, shivered. Freeze Blade however, felt contempt. He smiled widely, feeling the cold air brush in his fur. "You like that don't you?" He asked the kit, seeing the smile grow on his face.

"Ba!" Freeze Blade shouted happily.

To this, he smiled slightly at him, heading down the hall. "Well you should. This hall has your room along with Chill's and Slam Bam's."

Freeze Blade cooed, looking around the hall with interest.

They soon came to a stop next to a door. It was colored in a light navy blue, with an ice chakram symbol carved in the middle over the door. Freeze Blades name was carved in the wood as well.

"Well, here we—" His face fell as he tried to open the door, only to find the knob wouldn't turn. "…" He looked down at baby Blade, who was looking up at him with expectance. "…you locked your door…didn't you?" The toddler only stared up at him, blinking twice.

Of course, it wouldn't be surprising to find one of the doors to the SWAP Forces rooms to be locked. It was a habit to some of them to lock their doors if they weren't expecting to come back for a long time, and for more reasons not to find any _surprises_ waiting for them when they got back. A minor precaution that they had after so many pranks on each other.

Shaking his head, he reached up at the top door railing, feeling around till he found what he was looking for. "It's a good thing you keep spares up there." He smirked, unlocking the door with the spare key. Entering the room, another cold breeze, much colder than the last, pelted his body. He shivered again. He had always forgotten how the speedstar valued cold areas, originating from a cold place to begin with. A go happy warm smiling cat who preferred to spend hours upon hours in the snow and ice yet still have a warm personality that could warm up to a person quickly. Think about that for a moment. Feeling around for a light switch and flipping it, it took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light and look around.

Freeze Blade ogled as he, unknowingly to his babyfied adult turned toddler brain, looked around his room. He seemed to be a big fan of the color blue, vied at the color with different shades and hues with it being lighter at the top and fading to its darker color at the bottom. Decorating the walls, posters of many famous athletics, all being ice skaters or skiers. A navy blue rug covered most of the floor. A stand was placed at one side of the room, holding photos in frames of past memories and a few trophies. At the other side of the room, the bed was placed against the wall, with its blue blanket covered in snowflake designs. He cooed happily. Something about this place was making him like it very much.

He was impressed how Freeze Blade had at least managed to keep this room clean, making his way to the bed, promptly setting the toddler down. "Alright, good night." He turned to leave, not staying around to make sure that the kit fell asleep or not.

Freeze Blade cooed in concern. Where was the grey thing doing? He watched as it made its way to the other side of the thing, grabbing the shiny thing on the thin wood thing and—

 _He stood there as he watched, helpless as a tall figure picked up the suitcase and headed towards the door. He felt empty inside as the figure grabbed the doorknob and proceeded to open it. In a flash a white and the sudden weight in his small grey arms that now held a small bundle, another figure, pure white, ran to the other figure, grabbing the arm that held the suitcase, shaking it and looking at the figure with pleading and sorrow. The other figure growled and snapped at the other, jerking its arm out of their grasp and started to yell at the other figure, which to the words were new to him and could barely understand. His eyes were off the things as he felt a tug on his overalls, looking behind him. Two pairs of eyes, one emerald green like the summer days and the other a pale sapphire, looked up at him, hiding behind him as a means of protection from the yelling thing. Their fear was clear on their small white faces, and were looking to him for comfort. But he couldn't find anything to do or say to them that would comfort their worries in the slightest of ways like he could before. He had never seen the angry figure so…mad. A loud slam caught all of their attention. There, on their knees and crying into their hands was the white figure._

 _And the other figure was gone._

 _And he was never coming back._

 _Ever._

His eyes widened as the grey thing shut the door behind him, leaving him to himself.

Alone.

He screamed in terror, launching himself the edge of the bed, reaching in the direction the grey thing went. But even here, Isaac Newton's law gravity still worked. He could only let out another short scream of terror as his body was suddenly in a falling motion, landing on the floor with a belly flop. The rug that he landed on did little to nothing in cushioning his fall. Tears of pain weld and dripped out his eyes as he laid there, gulping in air in quick motions. Pain, abandoned, alone, frightened, all these ran in his head at lightning speed. His mouth drew open, taking the largest gulp of air that he could, ready to release the loudest, ear piercing scream that his tiny lungs could muster.

Or, he would have if he wasn't suddenly picked up.

The moment that he left the room and shut the door behind him, he immediately raced back in, hearing baby Blade scream and opening the door just to see him fall to the ground. His body went numb, eyes focused on the unmoving tot. A fall from that high up wouldn't kill a toddler. Would it? He was filled with relief when he saw that he was heaving air. Quickly, he went over to the child, picking him up and, with a quick look over to make sure that there were no injuries, held the kit close to his chest, grateful to find no injuries on the toddler and cursing himself inwardly for ever thinking that leaving the child alone was a good idea.

It was never a good idea to leave Freeze Blade alone! Everyone knew that! Leaving Freeze Blade alone, even by the shortest amount of time, always led to a disaster! How could he have forgotten that?! Leaving Freeze Blade alone…he hated it.

He looked down at the child. Freeze Blade was crying against his chest, trying to grab anything he could hold on to once he realized that the grey thing had come back and snuggled as close as possible to it, even if it was a tad uncomfortable. He frowned, using one hand to bring the tot a bit closer to his chest.

If there was one thing that the SWAP Force knew about Freeze Blade, no matter how others looked at it or thought of it, he hated and feared solitude or the slight thought of abandonment. Some would think it was a trait he shared with other wildcats, known to live in large family groups and rarely split off or separated, often seeking for a companion or friends so they wouldn't feel lonely. But to those who knew him best, even well enough like his team, it wasn't just a trait he shared with his kind. It was an emotional trauma.

Freeze Blade had an ultimate fear and horrible experience from his past. Whenever he was in solitude for a long period of time, the poor cat would break down into hysteria, clawing at his skin, pulling out his fur, curling up into a ball and rock himself back and forth, muttering to himself in non-sensible gibberish. Not a fun sight to see, or figure out.

Trap Shadow had thought it would have been fun getting the group lost in the Cloudbreak Mountains, planning to get everyone separated and lost so he could jump out and scare them one by one. It worked…for the most part. He had gotten most of the more easily timid part of the team, the others not so much, and poor Freeze Blade. When they found him in that sorry state, it was clear that the ice cat was never meant to be alone.

And Trap Shadow learned the hard way of pulling that kind of prank on everyone.

"It's alright now, you're not alone." He whispered, petting the side of baby Freeze's cheek with his thumb. "I'm back, no worry. It's okay now. Ssh." He could barely remember giving comfort to others before, or even seeking comfort. But now at that very moment it felt like it was all he knew he could do, whispering soft words, stroking him gently in a soothing and caring manner. "Don't worry. You'll never be abandoned. Never again."

Freeze Blade, sniffing and sniveling, cooed quietly.

The minutes ticked by slowly, seconds felt like hours, and minutes felt like years. Yet, time didn't bother them. When the last tear left his eyes, Freeze Blade was fast asleep against the Stonesapian. Careful not to wake the toddler, he set him back on the bed, far from the edge this time. "Sleep tight little guy." He whispered, standing next to the bed like a knight guarding his king's heir.

A small smile played on his lips as he watched baby Freeze sleep. He was kinda cute when he was asleep.

"Doom Stone!"

Quickly taking his eyes off the kit to the doorway, he flinched. Hovering there in a ripped boxing robe, bruised faced, messed up white hair, blood covered fangs, hanging out of place cravat, and huge black boxing gloves, was none other than Night Shift, heaving and panting, even if he never required air. Instinctively, his shield was up again, but Night Shift just waved a glove, shaking his head.

"Don't bother. I'm too tired to throw a punch." He huffed. "I just came to check on the kitten."

His shield was lowered, slightly. "He just fell asleep." He motioned with his head to the sleeping tot's direction.

A sigh escaped the vampire as he rubbed the side of his head that had the least amount of bruises. "Good, good. Just…I was worried for a moment." He waved his boxing glove, sighing once again. "Look, could you possibly watch him tonight? I need some rest."

He nodded. "Of course."

"Alright. Good night." With that, the vampire left.

Silence filled the room. Glancing at the kit, Doom Stone smiled once again.

* * *

Apparently, the term 'some rest', didn't exactly fit in to its meaning. So for three whole days, anyone who was in the _incident_ as they called every fight was either recovering from minor injuries, or staying in the med bay for the time being. Wash Buckler had the profound time of apologizing over and over again to each Skylander for Night Shifts misbehavior.

On a side note, Aria gave a few tips, along with a few whacks to the head, on caring for tots. And when Freeze Blade had to get a dipper change…well, lets just say that a few faces turned green, er, greener.

"And that dear Wash Buckler is why I need thick door locks for my lab."

Wash Buckler sighed, not bothering to pay Spy Rise any attention as his focus was on baby Freeze. "Mmm hm. That's nice Spy." He mumbled, picking the kit, in a purple t-shirt and shorts this time, up for the twenty sixth time and placing him back in his little make shift playpen which he seemed to find it amusing to escape from.

"Are you even listening to me?!" Spy Rise growled. "I nearly got turned into scrap metal three days ago! I need better locks!"

"Look, Spy, I know you have concerns for the safety of your lab and such, but I'm not in the mood to listen to your ranting right now." Wash Buckler glanced at him momentarily before picking the kit up once again to put him back in the playpen.

"And why would that be?" Spy Rise huffed, crossing his arms.

A tentacle pointed at the escaping tot before wrapping around the said giggling tot and placing him back in the playpen.

"And watching over a tot rather than giving him to someone else to watch over him so you can hear my problems is so important why?"

"Because Doom Stone has spent two nights without a wink of sleep, Grilla Drilla is out with Blast Zone and Rubble Rouser to get some mushed fruit. Not the rotten kind, the kind that's crushed into paste. He said that the kid might be old enough to eat it." He quickly explained when he saw the disgusted look cross Spy Rise's face. "Night Shift still hasn't woken up yet, Stink Bomb is helping out in the Med bay since Aria left back to her world for school or whatever. Free Ranger is keeping an eye on Fire Kraken, Hoot Loop, and Boom Jet, making sure that they're carrying out their punishment." He leaned close to the spyder, prompting him to come closer. "And frankly, Night Shift would kill me if he knew I let the dudes watch over him."

Spy Rise nodded slowly, getting what his leader was saying.

"And Rattle Shake is out on a mission with Magna Charge. So, basically." He looked at Spy Rise fully, picking up Freeze Blade before he could enjoy the sweet taste of freedom. "That really only leaves me and Brawly. Though she had to leave to help Sonic Boom with something." He smiled as he turned Freeze Blade to look at him. "Do you like Brawly? I bet you do."

"…eh?" Freeze Blade cooed, tilting his head to one side.

"…do you like Roller Brawl?" Wash Buckler asked again once he saw that the kit didn't understand his question.

Hearing the name, Freeze Blade smiled and giggled, hiding his face in his tiny hands.

"Aaah! I found one of your weaknesses! Prepared to be…tickled!"

He felt one of his eyes twitch as he watched Wash Buckler tickle the tot with his tentacles, making them both giggle and laugh in delight. He was about yell at his leader to stop this mindless idiocy, when something occurred to him. Recounting the names of their teammates, he realized that his leader had missed one. "And what about Trap Shadow?"

"He's never gonna watch the kid no matter if he asks or not."

The brows on his face went up when Wash Buckler answered with a monotone voice before quickly going back to tickling the tot. "…well, surely he—"

"Would you trust him to watch over a five month old?"

"…nnnooooo, but—"

"I rest my case." Wash Buckler snorted, placing the tot back down in the playpen.

"…Look, Wash." Spy Rise started, pinching the area between his eyes. "Can you at least listen to me? Just for a tiny bit?"

"Sure, I think I can do that."

"Alright then." Spy Rise breathed in deep, exhaling slowly. "Just this morning at breakfast, while you were away with the duty of changing Freeze Blade's…waist."

"I'm pretty sure they're called dippers dude."

"Whatever. Free Ranger had the delight in telling me between the bird seeds and the…augh, squished grabs in his beak."

"Just tell what you're trying to say dude."

"Why did he tell me that you have a laptop in your room?"

Wash Buckler froze in mid duty of straitening the cushions that made the playpen. "…um, well, I, uh."

"Didn't I forbid you to handle any electronics? As in forever?"

Beads of sweat were appearing on his face. "I-I don't know what you mean."

"Buckles."

His face fell in to fright. Buckles was the nickname Spy Rise used if he caught him doing something that he shouldn't have done, and basically meant that he was in trouble.

"Where did you get it that laptop from?"

"…" He turned, facing Spy Rise fully, crossing his arms behind his back as he stuck out his chest. Breathing in slowly and deeply, he raised one arm, pointing upwards as he closed his eyes. "… **YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!** " He shouted before speeding off as quickly as his many legs would go.

Spy Rise blinked, then he grew angry, then furious. " **GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!** " He raced after the squid with only three good legs.

Freeze Blade blinked, watching the things run off. He would have started to feel that he was abandoned again, but over the last three days, he was starting to see a pattern with the two things. They made funny sounds at each other. The nice blue thing would do something the hard thing didn't like. The hard thing would do funny moments and the nice blue thing would sometimes laugh at the hard thing. In other words, it was fun to watch them! But fun things had to wait. He needed to find the black thing. Out of all of them, he liked the black thing the most.

He cooed as he crawled through an opening to the playpen. It was lucky that the nice thing forgot to put the big pillow up. Crawling around, he started his journey to find his black thing, and maybe possibly the pretty thing as well. He liked her kisses.

But like all great journeys, there were great obstacles, and like all obstacles, it only made the journey seem longer! And now, he had to face his greatest obstacle yet!

Stairs!

Freeze Blade huffed as a three step stairway was in his way. He didn't like these things very much. There were too big and hard to climb on. But he wanted to find his black thing, and or possibly the pretty thing, so he had no choice. Getting one arm up on the first step then the other, it was now time for the hard part.

Getting his legs and the rest of him up there. Huffing and grunting, he tried to get one of his legs up onto the step. After a couple of misses and slip ups, he managed to get one leg up and secure on the step. With a happy squeal, he started to try and lift the rest of himself up on the step. With a few tries, he managed to get up on top the step. He smiled, doing the same process with the other two steps. Made it! But now came the even harder part.

Trying to find the black thing.

Crawling out of the lounge room, he stopped momentarily, looking around, frowning. The halls seemed much bigger than before. They didn't seem like that before, even when one of the things carried him around. Strings of fear wrapped around his heart, but he shook them off. He wanted the black thing. And he was going to have it no matter what! Depending on memory, he started to crawl again. It was slightly exciting and scary, but that wouldn't stop him now.

"Bo bo bo bo bo bo…boo bo bobo bo bo bo bo…b-b-b-b-boooo! Bobobo bobobobobobobobo…be bee!" Freeze Blade sang, doing a little march as he crawled. He certainly wasn't going to be down about this. He had to be happy! "Be ba bo! Be ba bo! Be be be, be ba bo! Ba! Ba! Ba ba! B—" He stopped, looking behind himself with his ears held high. That's strange. He thought he heard a noise behind him, but there was nothing there…Oh well!

Continuing crawling, he started to sing up the next verse to his song, jollying crawling along when he stopped and looked behind himself again. Now he was sure he heard something! But there was nothing there! A little worried and frightened, he started to crawl again, a bit faster this time. His worry died away however as in the corner of his eye, he spotted something. It was only a simple open door to a storage room, but to a tot?

A whole new level of curiosity and trouble.

Curiously, he went over to the door, peaking inside. Maybe the black thing was in here? With a small coo, he slowly crawled inside.

As he went in, his little brain was pricked with interest and awe. Boxes, big and small, were stacked, or laid open, intriguing the tot as he gazed around the dime lit room. One box laid on its side, its contents spilled out. He cooed, getting closer to the items. To an adult who know what these items were, a journal, safari hat, and binoculars, it would seem anything interesting at the very least, but to a toddler, it was a treasure trove. "Oooooooooo." He eyed the items in wonder. Picking up the journal first, clumsily, he started to flip through the pages, eyeing the scribbles and words, though he couldn't understand any of them. A few pages had some well-drawn out pictures of animals, one of them was a tiger, which he liked the most.

Tossing the journal away, he went for the binoculars next. Try as he might, the binoculars were a bit heavy for his arms to pick up, so he left them in a huff. Now the hat he seemed to like it the most. Giggling, he picked it up, finding it hallow inside and tried to crawl in it. He couldn't fit all the way in, and once he sat up, the hat was then sitting on top his head, which he found it to be amusing. Tilting the hat up, he looked around the room, suddenly having an idea.

This room was no longer a room, but a thick tree forest, just like in the scribble thingy. With birds, and hogs, and monkeys and other creatures that lived in the forest. And he was a worldwide explorer, trying to find every creature in the scribble thingy. Giggling, he set out on his journey.

For a while, he enjoyed his little game as he played in his 'forest' when suddenly. He froze, staying still. That noise again. And it sounded closer! Quickly looking around, he spotted an open box, or 'tree' in his imagination, laid out on the floor. Without a moment to lose, he quickly crawled into the 'tree', peeking out slightly. Minutes slowly passed as he waited, watching for any sign of the thing that was making the noise. A few minutes more passed, and when he didn't hear the noise again, he deemed it safe enough to crawl out.

Only to have his hat stolen once he was out of the 'tree'.

With a tiny surprised yelp, his hands covered his hat less head, looking behind him to see who stole it. To his surprise, not only did he find the culprit, but he also found out what was making the strange noise he was hearing.

It was the purple thing!

Trap Shadow smiled at the kid as he spun the hat on one finger as he sat on top of the box. "Missing something kid?" He chuckled. Now he wouldn't say that it was cruel of him to be laughing at a kid, no less a toddler, but it was fun watching his teammate sing and play around in his state. The real teasing would begin when Freeze Blade went back to normal and making fun of his little 'adventures'.

Freeze Blade huffed as the purple thing made more of that sound. He whined, reaching for his hat with grabbing motions of his hands.

"No need to get upset kid." Trap Shadow smirked, tossing the hat up in the air and catching it in his paw. "I'm only teasing you a bit." He winked, placing the hat back on the toddlers head.

Freeze Blade cooed happily, lifting the hat up a bit and smiled at the purple thing.

"Come on." Trap Shadow smiled, jumping off the box and lifting the kit up into his arms. "This place ain't the safest for you to play around in."

Freeze Blade cooed, before letting out a small yawn. His energy was spent playing around in his imaginary forest. With another yawn, he snuggled close to the purple thing as it carried him back to the lounge room, where the hard and nice blue thing were searching frantically for him.

* * *

 **Hftzi, hkrxv, zmw uoldvib wihzhgvi. Lmv gilfyovnzpvi zmw z yzyb rm gsv prgxsvm ovzwh gl z nvhhb hxvmv.**

 **Key: Flip alphabet word or letter  
**


	10. Disaster In The Kitchen

_LiteFox: Yeah, it was a nice surprise to bring Doom Stone out in the last chapter. And I'm quiet proud how it turned out. Trap Shadow won't do anything bad to the kitten, he'll just teas Freeze Blade about what he did when he was turned into a toddler when he gets back to being normal. Maybe I'll do more of Freeze Blades past…maybe not. Yeah, I thought that Spy Rise giving Wash Buckler a nickname he uses when he knows he's done something wrong would be funny.  
_

 _Icepelt2000: Yeah, no one would like to be abandoned. He just loves his black thing._

 _Crim: FREEZE BLADE WON'T DIE! TRAP SHADOW ISN'T GOING TO HURT HIM OR ANYTHING! Anyway, I'm glad you don't mind if I call you Crim. If you want me to stop calling you that just let me know, okay?_

 _Guest: Cheek back to the chapter called Enter A Portal Master._

 _Fangirl-Does-Write: You'll have to wait and see~_

* * *

"…I can understand a few things. I can understand when people are mad. I can understand when they're angry. I can understand when they're upset. I can understand when they are tired of you, when they don't want that person around them anymore, when they simply had enough. I can understand their logic. I can understand their fury. I can also tell when they start to hate that person. I can understand why they would want that person to be out of their sight, to disappear for a slight amount of time, to not been seen. I can even in the craziest of ways that defies all logic and standers that I know of understand how idiotic things turn out to be the most unbelievable, unimaginable, most brilliant well thought plan baffles even the greatest of all minds of the year that seem to overlook that a complete and uncomprehensive maroon could ever—"

"Dude, we can tell that you're angry right now. You don't need to go and start insulting people like that."

"Angry? No no, I'm not angry. Not one bit."

"…o…kay, why do you sound—"

" **I'M FURIOUS! Why In All Elements Above Am I Tied Up To A Stake And Blindfolded?! And Even More Infuriating, WHY AM I TIED UP NEXT TO YOU?!** "

"There's the Spy Rise I know! I was worried there for a second."

" **HOW CAN YOU SOUND SO CALM RIGHT NOW?! IN THIS SITUATION THAT YOU AND I ARE BOTH IN RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND!?** "

"…First, I dream of pie."

" **THAT! DOESN'T! EVEN!** ** _HELP!_** "

"…sssshould we stop them?" Magna Charge couldn't tear his eye away from the bickering climbers. It was scary to watch them bicker at each other, yet also very intriguing to see.

Trap Shadow sat cross-legged on the walls ledge. Baby Freeze sat on his lap, looking at the climbers with curiosity. "Mmmmm, naa! Just leave them be." Chuckles of amusement emanated from his mouth. "It's more fun to watch them bicker at each other than at us. Ain't that right kido?"

"Bo!" Freeze Blade exclaimed happily, having no clue what was going on.

"What a minute, do you have the toddler with you Trap Shadow?!" Spy Rise shouted.

"Yep."

"Why?! You're the worst choice to watch him!"

"Well apparently he seems to be the better choice other than you two." Night Shift, fully awake and glaring at the two tied up teammates, hovered over the Ultron with Grilla Drilla lumbering behind him, pulling a cart full of pies. "What kinds of idiots start bickering at each other and leave a toddler unattended to wander off?"

"Night Shift, Plllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-e-e-e-e-ease! Be reasonable—"

"It was all Spys fault."

"I _loathe you_."

Night Shift rolled his eyes at the two. "Can we please get started with the punishment already?"

"NO!"

"Yep!"

"I Completely Loathe You!"

"Right. Everyone ready?"

Unanimous calls of agreement sounded out as Skylanders started taking a pie off the cart. Night Shift hovered over to the two, smirking evilly with a pie in one glove. "Well, do you guys have any final words before we begin?"

"Oh! Oh! I have some!" Wash Buckler smiled as his mustache curled upwards.

"They better not be anything embarrassing Wash, this is humiliating enough as it is. Besides, no one is probably going to remember what you're going to say later on."

"Uh, you may what to think that part again, cause a few Skylanders wanted to remember this day, and Free Ranger is writing down your final words, sooo, make it good." Night Shift patted Spy Rise on the shoulder as the tech frowned.

"…I hate everyone right now."

"Alright, are those your final words?"

"NO!"

"Whatever, you still have a bit of time before we start." Night Shift hovered off, bouncing the pie in his boxing glove.

"Okay um." Wash Buckler hummed, tapping his tentacles as best he could with them tied up. "Take a step forward friends! It'll be easier that way!"

A thoughtful look crossed Spy Rises face. "…that…that was pretty good actually…you stole it didn't you?"

"Yes." Wash admitted shamefully with his head bowed.

"Are you going to try again? I still have plenty of paper left!" Free Ranger called out with a notepad and pencil in his claws.

"Ooooo! Spy! Help me out here will ya?"

"Me?!"

"Yeah you."

"After how this day has been going after YOU told Night Shift that we lost Freeze Blade that got us into this whole mess in the first place?!"

"…technically speaking, we were going to get punished anyway for Night Shifts behavior five days back and, technically, this isn't as bad as the piranha punishment that we had when we painted a cow pink."

"…I still can't see the reason behind our actions for painting that poor calf pink."

"Ready!" Night Shift took aim at the climbers as everyone got ready to throw their pies.

"NONONONONONO! Wait!"

"Please don't use the calf thing as my final words! Please, it's just embarrassing!"

Night Shift snorted, lowering the pie. "Fine. But hurry it will you?!"

"Fine, um, okay. Uh, Wash, do you have anything to say to anyone?"

"Tell my kids I died bravely!"

Awkward stares were given to the Mermasquid as Spy Rise frowned at his leader's idiocy. "…you don't have any kids."

"Your dad never had any kids!"

A series of ooo's echoed from the Skylanders. Spy Rise glared at Wash Buckler through the blindfold, towering over the squid as he shrunk back in sensing he had made a bad choice of words. "…I want you to _think_ about that logic, Buckles. Because we are going to have a nice _chat_ after this is over."

Wash Buckler nodded his head slowly, shrinking more under the techs glare.

"Now, would like to try again one more time?" Spy Rise asked through gritted teeth.

"…my booty itches."

"… ** _WHY WOULD YOU—?!_** "

"FIRE!" Night Shift shout, flinging the pie at the two as did the rest.

Pie bombarded the two, coating them in a sticky, gooey mess of different flavors and fillings.

"…Hey Spy—!"

" ** _I know they threw pie at us! It still doesn't help!_** "

Trap Shadow smirked as Spy Rise yelled at Wash Buckler. It was always amusing to watch them bicker like an old couple. His focus on them was cut off as he felt baby Blade tug on his fur, making babbling noises. "What? You hungry?"

Freeze Blade cooed, pulling the furry stuff on the purple thing harder.

"Ow! Okay, okay. Shesh." Trap Shadow jumped off the ledge, landing feet first while still having a hold on the toddler. "Listen, I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me, so later." He walked off, not bothering to stay and give anyone the toddler.

"Alright. Have fun…somebody follow him, I don't trust him having the toddler with him alone." Night Shift pointed a boxing glove at Trap Shadows retreating back side as he grabbed another pie off the cart.

" ** _THEN WHY DID YOU TRUST HIM WITH THE TODDLER IN THE FIRST PLACE?!_** " Another pie was thrown at Spy Rise face.

* * *

"Baby food, baby food. Where did Grilla put that baby food?"

Freeze Blade watched from his perch on the counter as the purple thing kept moving around, opening fun looking objects and taking out strange weird things before putting them back. He began to suck on his thumb out of boredom and as a distraction from the empty feeling in his belly. Plus his thumb felt really good to suck on.

"Okay, can't find the food soooo, hm." Trap Shadow stood up, tapping his elbows in thought. "Ding! I know what to do!" He headed off to the doors. "Stay right there Freeze. I'll be right back."

Freeze Blade was distracted by the shiny objects in the kitchen, not noticing that the purple thing had headed out and left him. He ogled at his reflection in a butcher knife, tempted to reach out and touch the sharp edge of the item. As he was about to though, the sudden notice of silence stopped, making him look back at the kitchen and realize that the purple thing wasn't in sight. Oh no. Where was the purple thing?! He was beginning to panic when his tiny ears picked up the faint sounds of footsteps getting closer. His worry diminished. Something was coming! Maybe it was purple thing? Or maybe the black thing? The pretty thing? The hard red thing? The funny sounding yellow thing?

His questions were answered when he saw who exactly walked through the doorway, his face falling and his eyes grew big as he recognized who it was.

The other yellow thing!

Fire Kraken hummed to himself as he walked into the kitchen, not noticing Freeze Blade on the counter as he headed farther into the kitchen.

Freeze Blade however noticed him, and remembering from past experiences, he certainly didn't like this thing. He whimpered, looking around for any place to hide from the yellow thing. Finding a place to hide was not going to be easy however as there was simply no place to hide on a bare clean counter top.

"Baking a cake~ Baking a cake~ I feel like backing a cake~" Fire Kraken sang, taking out a big bowl from the cabinet and setting on the far side of the counter. He hummed as he went to grab the cookbook on how to bake a cake when he stopped, spotting baby freeze Blade as the kit went stiff seeing that he was seen. For the moment, neither one of them moved from their spot, staring at the other and wondering what they would do next. Finally, it was Fire Kraken who broke the stillness in the area. "Uh, guys? Is anyone here? Cause you left the baby here and Night Shift really doesn't want me to be with him in any way imaginable and will kinda hurt me if he finds out that I have him." Fire Kraken looked about the room, trying to find anyone other than him and his babyfied teammate in the room. When it was clear to him that he was the only one there with the kit, two things dawned on him.

1\. He was alone with his babyfied friend, who had no way of taking care of himself or staying out of any possible danger by any means possible.

2\. He was _alone_ with the _baby_.

A grin slowly formed on his face as he realized that he had the kit under his watch and care. It grew even more when he realized that if no one was around, that meant that no one could tell the guys or Night Shift he watched the kid all by himself. And it grew wider at the thought of all the fun things he could do with the toddler.

Freeze Blade on the other hand wasn't liking the look on the bad yellow thing's face. A tiny mew left his mouth as he backed up against the wall, trying any way that was possible to get away from the yellow thing.

"If anyone is here, than say something before I grab the baby." Fire Kraken called out, tip toeing towards Freeze Blade, looking around to make sure that he was certain to be alone with the kit. "You better show up if you want him." He stood directly in front of baby Blade, slowly holding up his arms. "Last call." His hands started to grab the toddler as a scared look crossed Freeze Blades face, looking around for any way of escape. "No one? Then I get the baby!" He laughed, scooping up toddler and proceeded to hop around with the toddler up in the air spinning around and around in glee. "I get the baby~! I get the baby~!"

Poor Freeze Blade was not enjoying the ride one bit as he was spun around quickly. If his stomach hadn't been empty right that moment, it was sure to have come up by now and all over the yellow thing.

Giggling like an excited school girl, Fire Kraken continued with his earlier task. Opening a cupboard, he took out the cookbook, heading back to the bowl, and setting it on the counter. "Now, lets see. Where's the section for cake?"

As he was looking through the book, Freeze Blade was trying in vain to get out of the yellow things hold. But his strength was nowhere as close to being able to free himself.

"Ah Ha! Here it is!" Fire Kraken smiled as he found the directions and ingredients for baking the cake. "Looky Freezey! Isn't that yummy looking?" He held baby Blade up, showing him a picture of a perfectly made cake.

Freeze Blade was ready to scream at the top of his lungs, hopping it would grab anyone's attention and save him from the yellow thing. But once he saw the picture of the cake, hunger took away his scream, replacing it with a drooling sensation as he remembered how hungry he was. Oooooh he wanted that yummy looking thing baaaaaadly.

"Okay! Lets get cooking!" Fire Kraken smiled, placing the tot on the counter and went around the kitchen gathering the ingredients and measuring tools. Once he had them all in his arms –he hadn't thought of just grabbing a few items and placing them down before going back to get the other ingredients-, with careful balance he somehow managed to get everything to the counter and laid out, ready to cook. "This is gonna be great!" He grinned, taking a chiefs hat out from…where ever he found it, and plopped it on to Freeze Blades head.

Freeze Blade cooed as the hat slipped over his eyes.

* * *

In life, there were a few things that others can not do. For one, if one was to run during most of their young life and continued to do so at a steady pace, they could develop a higher speed rate than the average person. If one stays silent and focuses on listening more, their sense of hearing would be greatly increased. And if one were to develop a skill concerning the safety of close friends, they can be aware when something is off.

And right now, Wash Buckler could feel that something wasn't right. Prier to years of spending time with up to fifteen different people and developing a good sense of protection for his team, he could and would know who was in trouble and where they were. And after a few barrages of pies, he could feel that something was going down in the kitchen with Fire Kraken and the toddler.

Now he mostly wouldn't worry for a certain part with some of his group members that tended to just get into trouble at any possible time, but under different circumstances and a much different change to the group, worry was what he could feel all about his inter body as he raced down the halls to the direction of the kitchen. His sudden take off must have caught on as Spy Rise and Night Shift were close behind him, knowing full well of their leaders keen instinct of rushing off whenever he felt that one of his teammates were in trouble.

Even the few other swappers that were there when he bolted could see that he was worried, though he wasn't as worried as Spy Rise who was prone to panic when his leader didn't act his usual goof off self and went to be serious and straight. Night Shift however had his stone face on, but deep down he knew he was worried for only the kit. His speed increased when he caught sight of the door to the kitchen, though he could only go as fast before Spy Rise past him with anger written all over his face.

"TRAP SHADOW! What Did You—?!" Was all he could get out as he threw open the door before a bowl of cake batter splattered against his face. He stood frozen there as the two came up and, taking a good look around the room, their jaws dropped.

Chocolate cake batter was _everywhere_ in the room. It was splattered on the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the cupboards, the tables, the knives, forks, spoons, bowls, cauldron, oven, sink, fireplace, rug, and the portraits.

To say in the least, it was a complete mess.

How it got in such a state allover was the question, _who_ had done it was an easier answer. Coming out from behind a fallen over table, Fire Kraken clutching a chiefs hat on his head gazed around, giving a sheepish smile when his eyes landed on the three. "Uh, heh heh, mixing machine broke."

Night Shift was the first to get over his shock. "What. In the elements. Happened here?"

Guilt over came Fire Krakens face. "I was only trying to bake a cake! Everything was going okay, for the most part, b-but then Freezey started to pull with the mixer a-a-a-a-and it went wild when I tried to get him to stop! And then it started going out of control and went everywhere and…well it got splattered on Spyieds face now." He started to sniffle, beginning to shed a few tears.

Wash Buckler, getting the picture, carefully went over the fire master. "Easy Krak, it's okay now. No need to cry."

"But-but I made a m-m-me-me-e-e-essssssssssssssssss!"

"Yeah, not intently." He smiled, reaching out and patted the dragon on the shoulder. "You're not in trouble."

A few sniffles and tears escaped. "I'm…I'm not?" Fire Kraken asked, putting on the most biggest and tearful puppy dog eyes that he could.

"No. You're not."

"But you will be if I can't find the kit."

Their heads swiveled over to Night Shift as he looked about the room, lifting up items that could potentially be a hiding spot for the kit.

"That's easy!" Fire Kraken, springing back to his happy ego, smiled. "He's under the hat. I kept him there for safe keeping." He lifted the hat up, allowing Freeze Blade to poke his head out and coo.

Seeing the kit, Night Shift quickly teleported over, snatching the kit off Fire Krakens head, giving the dragon a quick bop to the head, and looked the toddler over. His mouth formed a thin line. "Fire Kraken? Why is Freeze Blade covered in flower?"

Freeze Blade was indeed covered in flower. From the tips of his ears, to his one beep blue one piece cloths, the kit was covered in powdery white grained dust, turning him into a cute fully white kitten.

"Eh, heh heh. Weeeeeellllllllll, he may or may not have been playing around in the flower bag when I didn't keep an eye on him." Fire Kraken chuckled uneasy as Night Shifts glare was on him.

"Dude! He's a mess!" Wash Buckler laughed.

"Not as messy as you are Wash!"

It was true. From head to tentacles, Wash Buckler was covered in pie goop that was sticky and pieces were stuck to him. Even his hat had a fair amount of pie innards clung to it.

"Yeah? Well you're a mess too dude."

Fire Kraken giggled, crossing his cake batter covered arms and smiled.

Night Shift however was not finding any of this amusing. Not in the slightest. "Fire Kraken, how did you get a hold of Freeze Blade? Did you steal him out from Trap Shadows grasp?"

The giggling stopped as Fire Kraken frowned sadly as he was accused of snatching the tot. "No! I just found him here all alone! I promise! Trap Shadow wasn't anywhere! Pinky swear!" He held out his pinky.

"You know he's not lying when he sticks out his pinky." Wash Buckler pointed out as he lock his own pinky around Fire Krakens.

"But where is—?"

"I keep telling you that I couldn't find i—Whoooooooa! What happened here?"

Heads turned to the doorway where Trap Shadow, Grilla Drilla, and a still frozen in place Spy Rise were.

"…man I should leave the kit behind more often!" Trap Shadow joked before he was clock out by a boxing glove.

* * *

 **Hrmp li hdrn, blf'iv zoo dvg! Mld rg'h grnv gl hvv gsv lxvzh wvkgs.**


	11. Trouble At The Beach

_Crim: I. Don't. Ship. Males. Together._

 _Icepelt2000: No! There will be no end to the madness! You're right about that. Trap Shadow is perfectly capable of keeping the kit safe and sound from danger if the need arises. Fire Kraken just wants to stay out of trouble with Night Shift for a while. He's still uneasy with the vampire._

 _LiteFox: Doesn't his misery amuse us all? Yeah! Wise words for our glorious leader! Whot! Fire Kraken is such a kid. Yes…yes he did deserve that punch._

* * *

Petrified Darkness.

An evil substance that held the very essence of evil inside of it. Encased by clear stone, it was easy enough it see the glowing shadow inside, twisting around in its eternal prison. But prison wasn't the right word to really use. In fact, at any chance, the darkness that resided in it could escape at any time.

It just needed a little boost. Or more of a shove.

With the right amount of power, a small part of the darkness could escape its stony prison, seeking a host to poses and control, giving a small portion of its power and turning the host over to the side of evil with no freewill to fight against it.

Nothing could repel the darkness from within, it required help from the outside with the assistance of a Skylander.

So…what exactly was his master up to?

"L-Lord Kaos? Is this a bad time?" The troll known as Glumshanks asked as he opened the door to his master's lab. "I-I don't mean to interrupt you or anything, it's just that you've been in here for quite a while."

Glumshanks gazed around the room, looking at the trinkets and machines that his master had built over the decades. Spells and charts were flimsily laid about on the floor and hung poorly on the walls. Flasks filled of odd color liquids were bubbling as electricity sparked and cracked in an orb. Out of place tools were thrown all about the room, one or two were embedded into the wall.

A thick lump went down his throat as he swallowed. Whatever his master was working must be frustrating him to no ends if his tools were scattered about.

"GLUMSHANKS!"

He gave a yelp, jumping on the spot with one leg up and his arms covering his face.

"What are you doing here fool?! I, KAOS!, am very busy!"

He loosened his stance as Kaos came out from behind one of his contraptions, holding a stone of petrified darkness. Just one look of the stone made him shiver, remembering the cold feeling of the darkness taking control of him that one time. "Pardon my intrusion master, but I was getting concerned. You haven't been out of your lab for days."

"Eh?! Is that all?!" Kaos huffed, shoving the troll slightly as he walked by. "I've been busy, that's all!"

"May I ask with what, sir?"

The dark portal master stopped, casting a glance at his butler. "Mmm." He crossed his arms, tapping his chin slowly in thought. "Weelll, I suppose it's only fair to tell you a bit about my incomprehensible genius that I, KAOS!, have come up with a brilliant plan to conquer Skylands once and for all!"

"Really? What did you come up with?"

"Behold Glumshanks!" Kaos held the stone out for the troll to see.

"Petrified darkness, sir?"

"Exactly!"

"But, what do you plan to do with it? Your last plan with the petrified darkness didn't end to well."

"Silence! I know that fool! Which is why I have been trying to find a different approach."

"Like what?"

His master didn't answer, only smirking as he headed off to the far end of the lab. He followed, keeping his eyes locked on his lord. When they came to the farthest end of the lab, they finally came to a stop. In front of them were three bar cage doors, thick in heavy metal and secured with three armed locks of pure hard iron.

"What do you see before you Glumshanks?"

"Uh, cell doors? Sir?"

"Good. But do you know what's inside of these cells?"

"No, not really sir."

"Well I'll tell you. In each cell I've concocted an experiment on different animals, each blasted with the Eviliser!"

"But sir—"

"Silence! Anyway, I have figured out something about the darkness that reside inside these stones. With enough energy and some tinkering, I have discovered different power levels in these petrified darkness. Observe!" The dark lord snapped his fingers and a leaver came out from the ground between them. "In the first cell I have used the Eivliser in regular settings on a harmless Sugarbat." He smiled, pulling the leaver down to a little to one setting with a picture of the animal.

The far left cell suddenly was filled with a bright light, showing its inhabitant. A once sweat, cute, furry Sugarbat was now a monstrous purple rock creature with glowing dark eyes and sharp fangs.

"The second setting showed more promising changes when I set it to a higher level. Behold!"

The middle cell lit up, showing a chained Borehog thrashing against its restraints. It still held the same outlook of a rock made body, but something was much different about this animal than the Sugarbat. While it still held the rock body, he couldn't help but notice that it contained enormous cracks in it, big enough to see glowing bright stones on the inside, emanating sparks of dark energy that seemed to come to life and snap at anything that moved, even its own host. But what was really separating the two evilized beasts was the looks in their eyes. While the bat had the look of wanted to do something bad or attack something, the bore had a look in its eyes that seemed to want to kill everything that breathed, destroying anything in its way with no mercy at all.

"And for the final test! I picked the most deadly, the most nightmare haunting, the most blood tearing creature that ever lived in Skylands that not even the most powerful Skylander could dare to beat it! Even deadlier that the Fire Viper!"

"W-wait. Y-you don't mean?"

"Yes! I exactly mean!"

"B-But sir! Everyone knows that they are the most dangerous creatures around! That's why they were locked away on a secluded island!"

"Right! And it showed the most promising result ever!"

"B-b-but it's, it's! It's!"

"A Wildendog!" Kaos laughed evilly as he pulled the leaver down all the way.

Glumshanks shook with fear at the beast's name. Wildendogs. The most deadly and fierce creature ever to be found in all of Skylands. They were said to be deadlier than anything that came to mind. They were quick, fast, and incredibly intelligent that matched their power and stamina. They had no room for mercy, not even to their own kind. Rumor has it that swords came from the idea from an iron maker after barely surviving from an attack of Wildendog after his arm was ripped off by its knife like teeth and powerful jaws and scared deeply in his sides by its long steel strong claws. Stories were told how Wildendogs were once everywhere in Skylands until the Skylanders took care of the problem, rounding them all up to an island that was forbidden to go to or even take one step on it. But even Skylanders had trouble with these beasts, and had lost a good many of them before the job was done.

He trembled as the lights flickered in the final cell, wondering what horrors the now evilized monster would bare.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't get to know on that day as when the lights finally came on, there was nothing. Nothing but torn shredded chains and a large hole that led to the outside world.

The two stared at the empty cell. "…oh…well…that's a problem."

"That would explain the noise I heard two days back."

* * *

The strange round thing bobbed up and down, floating in front of him as he ogled the strange object. It was big, slightly bigger than him. Swirls of different see through colors went in opposite motions and directions, circling and straightening for no more than beneath a second of time. He had seen others like it before, but they were all so small and this one was big. Slowly, he reached out to touch it…

POP!

With a tiny squeak of surprise, he shook his head rapidly as a means to get the soapy droplets off him as it sprayed its soapy mist onto his face and mask.

"Freeze Blade, stop that. You're splashing all the water around." Spy Rise sighed; dipping one end of a sponge in the soap mixed warm water and gently scrubbed the white powdered flower off baby Blades cheek. "And speaking of water, Trap! You missed a spot over there." A smirk played on his face as the sweet sound of the tiger's grumbles of irritation reached his ears. He would have laughed at the sneaker's misfortune, he even thought he should have, but settled with half-baked smirk and small chuckles instead. Better to just smirk at it than laugh at something that was sure to get back at you later. "Kraken, what did I say about eating food off the ground?" He asked in a scolding tone, not bothering to turn around as he began scrubbing Freeze Blade's arm clean.

Fire Kraken froze as his tongue was centimeters away from licking cake batter covered finger. "…to not to." With a small whine, he cleaned the batter off with the wash cloth in his other hand, saddened that he would never get to sample even the last of the remaining bit of his work.

"Good choice. Now if only _someone_ would listen." Frowning a bit, Spy Rise tried very carefully to pick up the toddler, heaving a sigh as the five month old moved out of the way while giggling, finding it to be some sort of game of dodging the techs hands. What was more irritating was that he was able to avoid his hands despite being in a small spaced wooden bucket filled a little halfway past the middle. In short, he was not enjoying this little game the tike was playing.

Freeze Blade however was fully enjoying his stay-out-of-the-hard-thing's-hold game. He giggled as he moved out of the way of the hard thing's hands, splashing water over the sides and onto the floor below.

Spy Rise would have started to pull one of his famous neat freak freak-outs as soapy water mixture with flower turned watery paste dripped onto the floor, but not today as the floor was already covered in thin layer of its own soapy water. In fact, Freeze Blade wasn't the only one in the room to get a scrub down; the whole kitchen was getting spick and span, getting the dirt and cake batter mix off its floors, walls, and ceiling. And who were the lucky cleaners? Well, Spy Rise, a neat freak of tidiness and keeping things straight that his team sure did like to tease him about whenever his saw a mess and had a freak out, was already busy cleaning the toddler of the flower that coated his entire form.

No, the real task belonged to the ones who _made_ the mess in the first place. Namely Fire Kraken and, though he didn't make any mess in the room it was still partly his fault in the first place, Trap Shadow. Yep, they were tasked in cleaning every nook, cranny, crack, stone, spoons, forks, knives, rolling pens, counter tops, bowls and everything else in the room till it was cleaner when they arrived.

So far, Trap Shadow was not enjoying his punishment of mopping the floor clean and clear. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop adding more of a mess to the floor kid. I've already got enough on my paws to clean up."

"Well too bad for you then." Spy Rise huffed, finally catching the tot. "You shouldn't have left him alone. Don't you realize what could have happened to him because of your idiocy?"

"Hey I was only gone for a minute!" The tiger huffed before being whacked in the back of the head by a black boxing glove.

"Ba! More like an hour you simpleton!" Night Shift growled, hovering at one side of the room as a means to make sure that both swappers were doing their tasks. And also to make sure to keep an eye on the toddler.

"Pretty sure it was more than an hour." Spy Rise mumbled under his breath as he wrapped Freeze Blade in a clean towel that was small enough for his size but big enough to cover his body. "So, despite everything that's happened today, everything seems to be normal…as normal as it can get around us."

"And when is anything normal with us?" Trap Shadow scoffed, scrubbing the same spot he stayed in for the umpteenth time now.

Spy Rise frowned. While ignoring Trap Shadow's crud remark to the team, he had to slightly agree with the tiger. When was the team ever normal? In fact, when did they start to be so _un-_ normal and be so…well, them? Yes they could be a little weird and out of place at certain times whether it was appropriate or not, but that shouldn't classify them as abnormal…should it? Okay, some of the things they did in the past were a tad… _questionable_ , if not strange to someone with regular and normal standers that didn't fall out of place and such. But that really shouldn't classify them or at least, most of them, out of normal standers.

Well, okay, _some_ of his friends could be labeled strange if not out of the sorts. Like for example Fire Kraken. He was well into his adult years, -minusing the hundred year factor in all of them thank you very much-, about twenty four and going to be twenty five soon in the later month or so. But despite being an adult, Fire Kraken displayed such a childishy act such as mischief making and no sense of responsibility in him at all, he was more like a teen than adult. Yes, teen. Sure that he could display so childlike divisions, but truth in the mater, he did have some sense of when it was time to act goofy and silly to dropping it all and get very serious in the matter, though would go back to being his old bouncy self when the whole thing was over. So, yeah, more like a teen than a kid.

Now Free Ranger, there was someone to give a stare or two. Who in their right of mind would risk their lives tossing themselves into a death certain storm? Clearly not someone with a death wish as large as his whenever he saw a dangerous looking storm he wanted to jump into. What's worse was when the air devil joined in on the action, and, much worse, they did stunts that not only threatened their lives but sometimes unintentionally the lives of others around them. Oh, how many lawsuits they had over the years.

And what could ever top life risking air devils? A grumpy, old, Transylvanian speaking, blood sucking, mist arm swinging, older than old-school, top rate undefeated phantom-weight champion vampire who once happened to be a baron enroot to inheriting his families great fortune but gave it all up for his dream of being a top rate boxing champion. Oh yes, did he forget to mention the crazy frenzy he went into whenever he heard a boxing bell? Scary, irritating, and painful. Even Night Shift, the more commonly sensed one next to him, could come off as a bit as a strange type now and later. Even he could do strange things that drew attention. Which was to say seemed to be a bit of a goal for him despite the fact that he preferred to be alone for a great amount of his time. Yet that wouldn't explain much of why he let Freeze Blade hang around him often. It certainly was strange, yet not as strange as the one being who was the strangest of all of them.

Wash Buckler.

The mermasquid, the most intelligent beings in all of Skylands, yet their squid, their _leader_ , couldn't even figure out how to solve a simple multiplication question! Seriously! Why would _anyone_ think that 2x2=7?! That didn't even make _any_ sense let alone why it was an _odd number_! It more confusing to why _he_ was the _leader_ and yet he was a _total goof off_! On the mission? Lazes around! Meetings? Snores so loud it rivaled the giants! Training? Tries to avoid it in _any possible_ _ **way!**_ Trying to take **_anything serious?_** Either he'll laugh, wave it off, or will take it serious. **_And he was his LEADER?!_** Why? Wwwwwwwwhhhhh-h-h-h-h-hh-hhhy-y-y-y-y-y-y-yyyyy?! Why did he ever agree to join the team?! Why did he accept the squid's offer?! Wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?!

He was certain that whenever he went off somewhere, he would burst right back into the room at any—

"DUDES! DUDES! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!"

…speak of the goof.

Sighing as he turned around, Wash Buckler came into the room, waving one arm up high in the air as it held something that he couldn't make out because he was waving it too fast. Apparently it seemed to be good if he was acting all excited and grinning like an idiot with his mustache all curled up tight. A sign which he learned was either really good…or really disastrous.

"Dudes! You are _not_ ever going to believe this!"

"I believe we won't."

"The most _amassing_ thing happened today!"

"The pie punishment or Fire Kraken making a mess in here?"

"Get ready to have your minds blown away when I tell you!"

"That nothing you ever do in this team is ever good and we all suffer _your_ consequences?"

"That I have free passes to the White Pearl Beach!"

"Yes, yes. That's— _ **WHITE PEARL BEACH?!**_ "

"White Pearl Beach?!"

"Ma ba bee?"

Wash Buckler smiled, chuckling a bit as he held out three long slim pieces of paper which were beautifully decorated with a clear clean beach and a sparking ocean against the setting sun with bold words at the top that read **White Pearl Beach**. Immediately, they swarmed around him, jaws dropping and staring at the passes, not believing their very eyes that Wash Buckler, of all Skylanders, had _three_ most valuable passes to the most fanciest if not most beautiful beach there was in all of Skylands! This had to be a dream!

"Wha—?! How Did—?! When Did—?! How?!" Spy Rise stammered, looking between the passes to his grinning leader.

"That was my reaction too! I thought it was some sort of prank or something till I read this letter that came with the passes. Here." Wash Buckler handed him the passes, taking his hat off and took out a letter that was hidden underneath it. Before he could read it however, Night Shift snatched it out from his grasp, giving it a gaze over before reading it out loud.

"Dear Wash Buckler, there are no words to which I can say that can express my gratitude for what you did. I simply cannot find any way possible to thank you for saving me and my workers from certain death had you not come to our rescue that day and saved us from the Black Thorn Pirates?!"

Everyone turned their eyes to their leader. He merely shrugged. "They were in trouble. I just stepped up to help them."

"...uh, I am very grateful for what you have done to risk your life to save us. If you had not come along I'm not sure what would have happened to us. So in hopes and in a way that I sincerely hope that you will accept these free passes to White Pearl Beach as a way to say thank you from me and my friends. Signed J O Nell. Aka, J.O." Night Shift stared at the paper in his gloves, rereading it over and over again. Slowly, he looked up at Wash Buckler. "…ukazannymi elementami…"

It wasn't often for Night Shift to speak in his native tongue, and when he did he only said it in shock or to say something insulting to someone without them realizing it. Something he used to do when he first meet everyone before he got to know them.

"You said it dude."

Spy Rise looked over the passes. "It says that these passes can let up to ten people in free each. That's thirty people!"

"Hot Dog! I'm going!" Trap Shadow smirked, snatching one of the tickets out from Spy Rise's hand.

"Uh, no way comprehendo." Wash Buckler took the pass away from the tiger. "After what you did today? I'll let Fire Kraken slip from this one since he didn't mean to make a mess of the place, but I ain't letting you off the hook."

"What?" Trap Shadow whined as Fire Kraken jumped about in joy.

"Sorry dude, buuuut." Wash Buckler's eyes turned to the direction of the vampire.

An ice cold aura was emanating off the vampire as he glared daggers at the tiger, crumbling the letter in his gloves.

"…yeah, I really don't feel like being murdered today or any other day."

Trap Shadow grumbled but said nothing else.

"Okay! Now that that's out of the way, who wants to go to White Pearl Beach?"

"ME!"

"It would be nice if I could go."

"Ba!"

"Absolutely not!"

The excitement in the room died as everyone turned to look at Spy Rise.

"Look, I know White Pearl Beach is sort of a onetime thing, despite the fact that it was Wash Buckler who made it all happen in the first place." His leader frowned at this. "But we are _Skylanders_. We can't just take any day off. We have work to do. And with our history of mishaps, we're bound to get kicked out of the place ten second flat. So I speak for all of us to say that _none_ of us are going."

Wash Buckler frowned at his friend, and then slowly started to grin.

Spy Rise caught sight of the grin, and, knowing the squid a good number of years, he knew _exactly_ what he was thinking. "No Wash Buckler! Absolutely not!"

The mermasquid's grin grew wider as he slowly began to nod.

"No! I pacifically said N! O!"

Still nodding.

"Whatever it is that you have planned won't work! I'm! Not! Going! To!—"

* * *

"WHITE PEARL BEACH!"

Spy Rise sighed as Fire Kraken, Zap, Blades, and Trigger Happy rushed ahead of everyone, laughing like children in a candy store. Wash Buckler hummed happily as he made his way down to the beach, umbrella on one shoulder and shades in his other hand, along with a basket, a beach ball, and spf sunscreen in three of his tentacles. Following behind him, Roller Brawl skated by with Freeze Blade scurried in her arms. Behind her, Snap Shot, Cynder, Spyro, Rattle Shake, Enigma, Déjà Vu, Hoot Loop, Free Ranger, Boom Jet, Jawbreaker, Scratch, Sonic Boom, Jet-Vac, Stink Bomb, Star Strike, Spotlight, and Blackout followed, having their own items for the beach in hand. Far behind the group, Night Shift was helping Tree Rex, and Ninjini carry some items for a cook out while Bat Spin had her bats carry food baskets for each Skylander.

"And the day has once again turned to his favor."

"And what would that be?"

His eyes widened, looking over his shoulder to the approaching Gearshift, wearing a light sea green cloth tied around her waist that hung more over on her right side like a skirt. _Dame you Wash Buckler!_ "Uh, n-nothing! I-I-I was just, um." He turned his gaze to the ground, kicking at the sand lightly with his now fully fixed leg. His body tensed however as he felt her place a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Spy Rise?"

He looked up at her. The sun was making her form glow, or was she already glowing? "H-hm?"

"Would you mind if you helped me search for some seashells? I've always had this habit of collecting them when I go to the beach."

"Oh! S-s-sure! Of Course! I-I-I wouldn't mind at all!"

"Great! Come on!" She grabbed his arm, pulling him along as his brain turned to jelly at her touch as he went along with her.

"Heh heh heh. Young love." Tree Rex chuckled.

White Pearl Beach. It was the most beautiful place to visit if not to live on. Well known for its clean white sand, and fresh air, White Pearl Beach was the prefect get away if not the most beautiful of all places. It was even filled with exotic wildlife. With such amazing views and such clean beach, it cost a fortune to get in the place.

Wash Buckler hummed as he set up his place. Snapping the umbrella open, he sighed, getting up and easing back in the lounge chair. "Ahhhh, this is the life." He smiled, putting his shades on.

At one end of the beach, Zap, Blades, Fire Kraken, and Trigger Happy were happily playing with some Mabu children, tossing a ball around, having a fun time. Rattle Shake found his spot over by the sunniest place on the beach, laying down in the warm sand and sighed happily. Not far around him, Scratch, Jawbreaker, Enigma, Blackout and Spotlight were taking their own spots, one for meditation, one for self-cleaning, another for just sitting in the sand and enjoying it, and two were which talking to one another. Roller Brawl had taken a spot close to the waves as she let Freeze Blade play in the sand. Sonic Boom was taking a stroll with Jet-Vac along the beach shore. High above, Cynder, Spyro, Free Ranger, and Boom Jet were flying around, enjoying the clean air. On the ground, the two giants were setting things up for the cook out with the help of Hoot Loop, Stink Bomb and Déjà Vu. Star Strike went off somewhere.

Night Shift, however, was not joining in on the fun. Instead, he secluded himself far away from everyone in the shades of the trees. Quietness, seclusion, peace, something he didn't get often but would take it in a wink. Laying against a tree, he let out a slow long sigh, enjoying the stillness around him. This could be something he could get use to. A small tiny smirk wiggled its way onto his face as he closed his eyes, for once relaxing with no worry or trouble. It stopped however as his ear twitched, picking up a faint sound that was too quiet for the regular ear to pick up.

"Enjoying yourself?"

His eyes snapped open, smirk vanishing instantly. Twisting his head to one side, he started to tense a little. Sitting on a rock not so far from him, Bat Spin gave him a little grin. "What? Aren't you going to answer?"

His eyes narrowed at her, making a low scoff as he turned his head away from her.

"…come now, I just want to talk a little."

"Then find someone else to talk with. I am in no mode to talk someone such as you." Night Shift growled in a low tone as he still refused to look at her, crossing his mist arms over his chest.

Bat Spin frowned, getting off the rock and making her way towards the boxer. "Night Shift, please. I just want to talk with you." She reached out to him, placing her firm but soft hand on his shoulder.

His body tensed under her touch, eyes widening as his dead heart did a little flip. Slowly, he turned his head, looking at her with the corner of his eye. Her head was tilted to one side, yellow eyes locked on to him with the sincere look of empathy in them. For a brief moment, the world around him went still. His eye was locked on to hers, freezing his stone cold body in place. Finally, he sighed, loosening his stance. "Fine. What is it that you wish to speak of?"

Bat Spin smiled. "Something that might interest you."

He gave a sharp scoff. "Like what?"

A sly smile crossed her face, moving her hand away and place her head against his shoulder, making him tense once more. "A little bat once told me that you value something called, boxing." Her smile grew a little slyer as his ear twitched.

"…go on."

* * *

She had days that were better than this, but it wasn't every day that her boyfriend got turned into a toddler, and it wasn't every day that she could spend time on the most beautiful resort of White Pearl Beach. So, she would take what she could get.

Roller Brawl sat on the clear sands of the beach, listening to the waves roll and breathing in the fresh air, not that she needed to breath or anything, it just felt good to do so once in a while. A content smile crossed her face.

"Booooo."

Looking down at her side, she laughed a little as Freeze Blade, enjoying his found freedom from the cloths and only be reduced to wearing a dipper, stuffed his face into the white sand, liking the soft and strange new feeling of sand in his grasp and in his fur.

"Oh Freeze Blade, you silly." She giggled, straitening the toddler up and onto his rear.

Freeze Blade giggled, taking a hand full of this new white stuff and flung it around. The white stuff was everywhere! This meant he could play with it forever! Laughing, he started to dig in to the white stuff, tossing it behind him and everywhere.

Roller Brawl smiled as she watched her babyfied love dig a hole in the sand. There were some moments in life that just couldn't be missed.

* * *

"So, what do you think?"

Blackout opened one eye, looking up at his counterpart. "Hmm?"

"Come on silly, you know what I'm talking about. It's not like you to be out on a sunny day like today. You prefer more of a dark creepy kind place over a nice sunny day place like White Pearl Beach. So, what made you want to come along?"

He smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, resuming to rest against the sand that was quickly dropping temperature underneath him. "What can I say? You seemed excited about this place, so why not? Can I come along and enjoy the sunshine once in a while?"

Spotlight smiled, rolling her eyes as she shook her head, laying against her mate more. "You only tolerate it because I'm here. If I hadn't agreed to come along, I'm pretty sure that you would be down in the crypts where it's dark and full of strange things."

Blackout frowned as he opened his eye. "Not true."

"I'm only saying that the night is a little strange for me, that's all."

He looked at her, trying to find anything in her form that said she was lying. His brain suddenly clicked with an idea, smiling slowly. "How bout this? Since I'm out here in the day light, how about you come with me some place and show you a bit of darkness that you might like?"

Spotlight gazed at her mate's eye. Thinking for a while, she sighed, nodding her head. "Alright, fair is fair."

Blackout grinned, closing his eye and made himself comfortable in the sand, making sure to be comfortable as his mate laid next to him.

* * *

Her body, her figure, her personality, her kindness. What more could he say about her? She was simply stunning to his eyes. Who couldn't? He sure wouldn't find any reason to not lov-like! Like her! He didn't think of anything like love or stuff like that!

Anyway, it was nice to spend some _friend_ time with the trap master. It was a change, a good one at that. Just him, her, and the seashells…oh yeah, seashells.

"Mind me by asking but, what is it that you like about seashells so much?"

"Well." Gearshift bent down, picking up a fair sized shell. "Don't laugh at me when I say this, but I've always had a fascination with the sea. It full of mystery and secrets that are just waiting to be discovered. And its beauty. Skylands has many pretty spots all around here and there, but with the ocean?" She turned to look at him.

Her stunning radiance captivated him. Circuitry and motors whirled faster inside him. _JustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriendJustafriend  
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"Are you okay?" Gearshift asked. "You've been quiet for about ten minutes now."

* * *

Snap Shot enjoyed the feeling of water all about his body. The clear waters of the beach were a perfect way to help him get in tuned with wilderness once again. Diving deeper below, he glided across the ocean floor; quick as a bullet but stealthy and careful enough not to put anything out of place as he swam by. Water. His element. Something he couldn't deny or get rid of, but why would he want to? When he was on land, he was a tad slow. Still quick enough to move about and shoot an arrow as quick as a wink, but he wasn't fast. In the water however, he was like a rocket, jetting past everyone and everything a top speed. He certainly was quick enough to be challenged by the SWAP Force often for a race. That he couldn't deny was true. Even having a few friendly racing competitions with the squid under water time and time again here and there. He had to admit, he was certainly one to rival with in his true environment than on land.

Tiny air bubbles trailed out of his nostrils. Especially since he could breathe underwater while he could only hold his breath for so long. Turning his body upwards, he glided up, following the tiny air bubbles up to the surface. It was a tad bit of irony. His body meant and built for swimming the waves and gliding the sea floor, yet he wasn't gifted with the ability to breathe under the surface like all other aquatic life. Yes he didn't mind that much, but it certainly was a hassle going back and forth of going under and up again and again.

Breaking through the surface, his lung quickly refilled with fresh air, cooling the burning sensation in them and relieving them of the pressure. It felt good to have part of him back up in the surface. Easing himself back in the water, he let himself float for a while, letting himself get lost in his thoughts as he stared up at the sky. Sky. Heh, what a funny word. Everything in Skyland was up in the sky! Hence the sky part. Parts of land floating in the air, few small, many lager, and some gigantic beyond belief. He never told anyone this before, but he always wondered what Skyland would be like if it wasn't in the sky. Would it just be called land then? Would there be no ships or vehicles that could soar in the sky? Would he still be called a Skylander?

Who knows? There was a lot of mystery in Skyland that drew up a lot of questions. Heh, leave it to the ancients to leave behind so many secrets for them to find. A chuckle moved about in his mouth. Yes, there were certainly a lot of things that no one can figure out in one day. There was just no simply way of solving it all so quickly no matter their efforts. No genius could crack the codes that quickly, not insulting the more intelligent Skylanders of course.

Gentle waves lapped at his tough hide, cooling his scales for the suns heat. Taking a gulp of air, he dove down under the surface once again, hovering a few feet beneath. The rays of light that reflected the waves ripples danced across the ocean's wide range, lighting up bits of the dark underneath and showed the world above the beauty of the under and above the sea. True beauty didn't lie in the land or the sea, laid in both in an equal such and harmony.

Harmony, why couldn't Skylands have harmony? Was it that hard to get? Was it truly that difficult to acquire? Sure there were a lot of villains in Skylands, but that didn't mean that it was the only bad thing in this world. Fights, disagreements, scuffles, murder, thieves, gangsters, poachers, you name it, Skylands has it.

A frown etched itself on his face. Would Skylands ever get any peace? Surfacing again, he let himself drift, looking back at the beach. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. The frown melted away, being replaced by a warm smile. Why should he be worrying about? He was here to relax and have some fun. And that's exactly what he planned to do.

* * *

She had to admit, she had made a good choice in agreeing Wash Buckler's offer to come here. It was peaceful, tranquil, and plenty of places for her to practice her card reading skills.

Star Strike hummed as she shuffled her blank cards with her powers, both curious to know what her cards might say today and anxious to know if they would give her a warning. Many may not know this, but her cards had the power to tell of what will come in the far or near future, or what fortune someone will have. It was a mystery that she was dying to find out.

There were just a few rules to follow when she did this. 1) Once the cards are shuffled, place them all into three separate stacks, representing the past, present, and the future itself. 2) Once the cards are in the three stacks, take one and only one card from each stack. You can't put the card you took back or take more than one card from the same stack, only one card. 3) Once you have all three cards, lay them flat on the ground, face down on the blank side, chant the spell of the ancients, and then, by the colors of the light that each card will glow, will give a small hint whether it good, normal, bad, danger, or worse. 4) Once the light has faded, look at the backs of the card to determine who will have what fate.

" _I put a spell on you~ and now you're mine~_ " She sung, having that song stuck in her head thanks to Aria showing her the one Hocus Pocus movie one time. She hummed the rest of the song as she finished shuffling the cards, putting them all in three separate stacks and levitating one card out from each of them. "Alright, lets see what's going on today." Levitating the rest of her cards away, she set the three cards down, with their front side in the sand and their back sides showing. She took a slow breathe, clearing her head and her thoughts and focused only on the spell as she begun to chant the ancients spell in an old and long forgotten language.

Magic took control, enveloping the cards in a blanket of power and life, drawing out fate in the clear blanks of the paper. Star Strike, completing the final verse of the spell, watched the cards, feeling a little excited to see what they would say. Her excitement however was pushed away as her glowing eyes curved into what seemed to looked like confusion. Each of the three cards had a different color and brightness glow to them.

The left one, which represented the past, had a glow of a mixed rays of blue and green color. Blue meant that something sad or bad had happened, yet green meant protectiveness and regret. The middle, present, gave off a bright orange yellow glow. Upcoming danger. But the third, the one on the right which was to tell about the future, it stood out and made her worried.

A deep hue of red with the mixture of dark black in a low light.

Blood fate.

Her stomach tied into tight knots. She had only few readings with blood fates before, but she always couldn't help but feel scared.

Shaking the feeling away for now, she waited for the cards to stop glowing. Once they did, she looked over the first card. The image on the back of the card was a bat, designed in ice. Flipping it over, the card held an image of black and white, one that got much of her attention. White kitten reaching out to a black bat that hovered over the child like a shadow with a bleeding, -or was it crying?-, white cracked heart. She had a slight idea of what the card might be talking about.

The middle one had a picture of a seashell, but with a crack in it. Flipping it over, this one had a bit of color. It showed the beach, most of it the ocean. But what stood out were the storm clouds above it and the red leering eyes in the water. Her eyes glowed a tone brighter. Was something bad going to happened soon?

She pondered over this thought before looking at the last card. She stared at its backside, studying the image. Two arrows, one going left and the other right, were covered and dripping of blood and cracks. She hesitated to flip it over, clenching and unclenching her hand. With a shaky hand, she reached out, touching the card in one corner, and slowly began to turn it over.

* * *

"Freeze Blade? Where are you? Freeze!"

Night Shift, Spy Rise, Magna Charge, and anyone else who could have common sense in the SWAP Force, were _seriously_ going to _kill her!_ How could she have lost sight of her _babyfied boyfriend_ so quickly?! She just had her eyes off him for a few seconds, he was right beside her when she looked away, and the next second _he was gone_! Even as a baby, he shouldn't have been able to get away that quickly! He shouldn't have!

"Freeze Blade!" Worry bubbled in her stomach. This was bad. There weren't too many civilians around to be counted as suspects, and she was far off from anyone so she could have spotted anyone walking away from her. Elements dame it! There were sure to put her head on a stake and cook her body like a roast! But what was really frightening was the thought of Freeze Blade's safety. What kind of danger could fall on him? Was he even alright? Was he somewhere safe or in danger? "Freeze Blade!"

"Hey Roller Brawl! Over here!"

Her gaze went over to the young air dragon waving her over. Zap and Trigger Happy were there with him along with three young Mabu children. She wanted to ignore them and try to continue searching for Freeze Blade, but on the other hand, they could help her search for him. So without better option she went over to them.

"What? I'm a bit busy at the moment." One of her brows went high as she observed each one of them with their grinning faces. Oh boy, grins on those faces were not good.

"Check out what these guys made for us." Blades pointed out with his wing as Zap giggled a bit and Trigger Happy trying to hold back a fit of laughter, the children doing much better than him.

Raising her eyebrow more, she complied to the request. On the sand beached ground was a crafty by standard child made looking piece of art work. It resembled somewhat of a snake laying down…wait. Snake. Why was that setting off warning bells in her hea—

"BOOGIE BOOGIE!" Fire Kraken shouted, springing out from the ground where he was buried and startling her.

The six pranksters couldn't hold back their laughter anymore. They all laughed as she blinked, slowly getting over her shock over the surprise. Slowly, she began to smile, finding it silly and amusing that she got startled so easily despite slightly knowing it was a prank.

"Boo!"

She nearly jumped again as Freeze Blade came popping out from the sand next to Fire Kraken, sending the group into another round of roaring laughter.

"Freeze Blade!" She quickly picked up the tot, holding him close to her chest and refusing to let go. "Oh elements I was so worried!"

"Why? He was with us the whole time when Blades told me to grab him."

Two of the three laughing Skylanders suddenly became quiet.

"…oh really?"

"Yeah! He told me to dig underground to nab him! Which was easy since everything here is sand and it doesn't require Rubby's dig ability! Or Dirlly's! O! O! O! And Zap came up with the plan to surprise you! And! And!"

Her eyes were fixed on the two dragons as Fire Kraken went on explaining their plan.

* * *

The warm mid evening rays of the sun shined down on the beach. It was a nice day, a warm temperature with cool winds breezing by, the perfect day to go to the beach and have a cook out.

Which was exactly what the Skylanders planed on having. Hot dogs, steak, hamburgers, a whole table of different foods on top. It was like a buffet, which they were happy to share with others. Now if they had a boombox, it could turn into a party.

Wash Buckler sighed happily, enjoying the cool and delectable lemonade run down his throat. His skin has gained a good tan from the sun, turning his light blue skin a shade or two darker than it was before. How long has it been since he was able to relax? To enjoy himself? To really kick back and take the time to cool down and just chill? Speaking of chill, he probably should of invited her to come along. Oh well, her bad for not being found to be invited.

He glanced over at the others, smiling to himself. Most of the air element Skylanders were mingling about with the people who decided to come over, sharing stories and telling jokes, lighting the mode. Stink Bomb and Hoot Loop were putting on a little show. Jawbreaker had gone off to fetch their missing friends. Cynder and Spyro were off to the side talking with Blackout and Spotlight. Roller Brawl was helping Freeze Blade make a sand castle with the help of Fire Kraken while Zap and Blades were buried half way deep in the side. And it wasn't their lower halves that were buried. Snap Shot was still swimming in the waves, neither Night Shift or Bat Spin had shown up yet, Tree Rex was resting in some of the shade he could find and finally, Déjà Vu was showing a Mabu child how to fly a kite. Yep! Life was good for the moment.

A chuckle left his mouth as he sipped some more lemonade from his drink. Life was gooood.

Drip.

His eyes blinked open, twitching his mustache slightly. Did he just feel? He looked about. It wasn't till later that he felt it again. A water droplet. He frowned, looking up at the sky and frowned even deeper. Grey clouds were starting to roll across the sky, covering it in a thin blanket and blocking the suns light. But he didn't spend his whole young life being raised by pirates to not know that it wasn't just a small rain pour. No, he had spent many days and nights honing his sea skills. Weather out on the open seas were dangerous if you didn't read the signs right. And right now, he knew it would only get worse.

The diminishing sunlight and the escalating droplets of water grabbed at everyone's attention. Some groaned and huffed, seeing that their fun was coming to an end. Slowly, they started to leave, going back to gather their stuff.

"Aww, bummer." Fire Kraken whined. "Why'd it have to rain?"

Roller Brawl shrugged, picking up Freeze Blade as he sadly watched his castle melt away. "That's nature for you Krak…though, it's a bit weird. The news said it would be sunny all day."

The frown on his face got deeper. Sunny all day today? Well unless the weather man was wrong about that, or nature was on the whack today. Either way, it didn't help him feel any easier. Something was off. Something big, something out of place, something that just didn't fit right with anything, something important. But what was it?

The rain started to become a down pour, stiffening the sand underneath to a firm and sloppy substance instead of the smooth and soft texture it once use to be.

"Skylanders! Come on, it's time to leave!" Spyro called out, trying to cover himself from the rain with his wings. "Wash Buckler! Come on! We got to go!"

He stayed put, even when everyone else went up to higher ground. Something was defiantly wrong. But what? He just didn't know.

"Everyone! Get out of the water! The storm is getting worse!"

Water? Then it clicked. Snap Shot! He was still in the ocean! Tossing his lemonade away, -he would throw it away later when he came back, octopuses word-, he headed for the ocean, fighting against the wind as it started to pick up. Hand on his hat and ignoring everyone's shouts for him to come back, he entered the sea, diving below and started his search for the reptile.

There were only two problems with his search, number one was the ocean was a big place, so basically he had no idea of where to look for his scaly friend, second, the storm was tossing the waves around, hindering him from moving the direction he wanted to go.

And Spy Rise claimed that his species were good at this? He could barely hold on to his hat, Davy Jones Locker! Being tossed about like a fish on a frying pan was _not_ fun! There was only one solution to this problem, going deeper down. Fighting as best he could against the waves, he dove deeper bellow. Finally having somewhat of stability, he went back to his task of finding the trap master.

Now on a scale to one to ten, how hard would it be to find the croc in a very big and violently turning waves of the ocean?

To say the least, **_VERY, VERY, DIFFICULT!_** Oh sure, he could spot the croc in the water when he could, but how was he supposed to find him?! And how far could he have swam away from the shore line?!

Diving around in search for the trap master took some time, but so far came up empty handed. Maybe he realized that there was a storm coming and went back? He himself was already far out into the sea as well. Shaking his head, he turned to head back to the beach, but stopped. Squinting his eyes to focus, he could just barely make out an image of something swimming towards him.

…wait a minute.

His eyes widen as Snap Shot's form became clearer as her got closer, and as he got closer, he immediately could tell something was wrong. Snap Shot was holding his left shoulder, trying to stop the blood from flowing out of it. His eyes screamed to run as he kept trying to swim at top speed with some minor difficulty.

He was in trouble. He had to help. Quickly swimming over to his friend, and ignoring the petrified look he was given, he took off his hat, taking the red bandanna off his head and pressed it against the wound, hoping to stop the flow of blood before he fainted from blood loss. His eyes glanced at the wound. Something powerful had cut deep into the scales and hitting the flesh underneath. It wasn't serious bad, it just needed something to cover the wound up better than his bandanna.

His focus turned away from the wound when Snap Shot tugged on his sleeve, making various motions to get to the surface. He complied, keeping the pressure on the wound as they swam up to the top, breaking through the water.

"What are ya doing here mate?!"

"Well if it's any consult, I came looking you."

"Well ya found me, but that ain't the bad part!"

"What bad part?"

Before he could get an answer, Snap Shot lunged at him, sending them both underneath the waves again. He didn't have time to register a way to defend himself, nor did he try to get out from his grip as he grabbed his arm and started to swim again as something big crashed smack dame where they once were. His eyes widened. Whatever had wounded the gator, it didn't seem satisfied with its job yet. Quickly, putting his many legs to good use under the waves, he pulled Snap Shot along, gaining more speed for the duo.

Once or twice he looked back, and for each time, he wished he hadn't. Something was casing them. Something big. And it was gaining on them. Snap Shot tugged on his arm, signaling that he needed air. Quickly, they made a break for the surface, only having a moment to spare before going under again and taking off as the shadow was getting closer.

Their swimming destination to the beach however, was off. Instead of going towards the beach, they were swimming the sidelines far away from the beach, and heading towards the outer lands of the beach, where it turned into a lush thriving forest.

Looking back once again, his eyes almost popped right out of their sockets. Quickly he pulled them to the right, avoiding the jaws of their pursuer and, spotting thick tree roots to hide in, dove under the cover of nature, finding a good hiding place behind some rock formations. Once in the safety of the roots, he took a small chance of looking out for the predator that hunted them. Visibly flinching, he ducked behind the rock as a large sea creature swam by, letting off a groan that rumbled in the oceans depths.

He didn't get a good view of the creature, but he had a pretty good idea that it was long and slim by its agility and the passing shadow as it passed by again. A frown returned on his face. This wasn't good. It knew they were there. He looked about their area. They were basically trapped in a cave of roots, keeping them below the surface and trapped at the mercy of the sea beast. And. His focus went to his companion. The poor gator looked like he was struggling to keep his air in, the scales around his face were starting to turn a promising shade of purple…could crocodilian scales really do that?

He shook his head. This was no time to be questioning scale color condition! He needed to find a way to get them out of this mess alive! But the way he could see it, unless the beast could get distracted long enough for them to make a run for it, they were done for. Looking back at his friend, he could tell that he was barely holding on. He needed air, quick. His eyes went over to the wound where Snap Shot kept his bandanna pressured on it. The blood seemed to slow to a minimum…wait. An idea hit him. Quickly swimming up to the croc, he snatched his bandanna back and handing him his hat, tying the bandanna to his forearm. With various hand motions he explained as best he could of his plan to Snap Shot before looking out once again from their cover, waiting for the right moment to dart out.

Oooh Spy Rise was going to have a fit for coming up with this plan. Once the shadow passed by once again, he darted out from the safety of the roots, heading off far from his cover and into the open area of the sea. Taking a glance behind him, he both smiled as the creature's focus was now on him, giving Snap Shot time to make a break for the surface for air, and petrified as the creature was now _hunting him_! Sea water muffled his yell as he nearly dodged being snapped in two. Quickly, he tried to stay close as possible to the sea wall, hoping to find a cave or something to hide in.

For the past ten minutes, he dodged and swiveled out of the way of the upcoming jaws that nearly nicked him here and there. He body was getting tired; slowing him down consistently that it almost got one of his tentacles. He had to keep going. There was no way he was going to be some creature dinner. He still needed to look after the team. His friends. His buddies. His famil—

Pain. It rippled through his body as he screamed out in agony, suddenly being tossed at the stone cold wall of the sea. His back hit hard against the wall, hard enough for some of the rough jagged rocks to break through his vest and undershirt and scrap at his skin. The pain of both a wound to his back and a deep cut to the right side of his chest took a tool on his weaken tired body, leaving him powerless as he slowly sunk to the ocean floor, bleeding out profoundly from his deep wound. Trails of blue blood seeped out, coating his cloths in the copper-rich substance. Weakly, his hands covered to wound, applying pressure against it and fighting back the urge to scream by biting his lower lip and grabbing at the sand with his tentacles. He was sure to be having some stitches for this if he survived.

If.

That was a big uncertainty. With a wound this bad and being too tired to move, there was no _if_. There was only will or not. That was it. No ifs about it. Even at a young age of his life just shortly after being adopted by pirates, it stuck into his brain quickly. Fights among pirates against other pirates were common at seas if they bumped into each other. And even then at that young age, those images were drilled into his mind for life as he watched seadogs fight against seadogs while he hid in the closet like the captain told him to. The crew won, that was for sure, but good many crewmates were slaughtered that day. One crewmate was badly wound, mortally even, yet despite how badly injured he was, they insisted to keep him alive, probably because he was one of the best shipmate they had and hoped to save him from death. Alas though, even their best medical attendant couldn't save him, and in the middle of the night he passed, though not in pain, but in peace. Even by the news of his death that morning didn't impact the crew that much. They knew he would die and they still tried to save him.

He didn't understand their motives, questioning their actions that day till the answer was given to him by the old sea captain. _There be no ifs for th' gravely wounded_ he said. _There be only will or no surviving._ He didn't understand him at first, but he slowly got the idea what the old dog was saying. There were no ifs in this world, you either survive or die, no buts about it or anything. And he took it to heart.

A smile crossed his face. That old dog did good in teaching him how to live. Almost like a father figure to him as he grew up, and kind of being a father to him at some parts. He looked up to him, depending on him to teach him how to survive in this world. Even as far as giving him his sword as a sign of respect and growing into an adult, teaching him how to wield it properly and how to shoot a gun, showing him how to read maps correctly and how to run the ship, even letting him steer the ship at times when no one was looking. Man, how many times had he steered them off course before he could read maps properly and find the right direction that north was in. He could almost hear the old dog's hearty laughing in the distance. His smile vanished. Who knew that old sea bag would one day challenge him to a duel that changed it all? Who knew that he was actually preparing him to take his place? Not him, not the crew, not even his first mate. The duel to the death for the position of captain. Sadness clouded his eyes. He never liked the rules of the pirate ways, especially one that demanded one to die. Especially since he never _ever_ thought of taking anyone's life before. But he did, and the old dog died by his hands that day with his sword through the dog's gut, but not before giving him his last gift.

His hat. Passed down from generation to generation of pirate captains to him. There was no gold in the universe that would part him from that hat. It was a reminder of who he was and the closest thing he had left of the old dog. Though not one of the greatest dads around, he was still the best and probably the only parent he had in his life, even by pirate standers. If it wasn't for him, who knows what could have happened to him as he grew up?

A deep rumbling tore him away from his thoughts. Looking upwards, his blood went cold. The beast was looking right at him, showing its massive teeth with its spearhead tail flicking behind it, ready to strike him down if he so much as dared move an inch. Its eyes were locked onto him, flat head positioned to ram at him as its fins kept it still against the waves. It looking for a meal. It was looking for prey. It was looking to have its favorite type of fish for dinner tonight. It was looking at him like he was sushi. He probably was. He was defenseless, he couldn't even move out of the way in time less than even being able to get up. Smart move for leaving his weapons behind at the academy.

Oh well, if this was the end of the line for him, he just had one regret. One that he simply wished he had done before dying at the jaws of this beast.

He should of asked for more soda from Spy Rise to keep his mouth shut about his _wittle crush~_

The beast opened it mouth wide, ready to scoop him up and swallow him whole. He smiled softly, closing his eyes, accepting his fate. Maybe death won't be so bad. The team would have a bit of a hard time with his absence, but he was sure that they would work it out. Heh, maybe Spy would finally be the leader like he always wanted to be.

He could feel its warm breath upon him. Warm. Boy, was he going to miss Fire Kraken's hugs and his special bro fist with Blast Zone. He was going to miss all the camp fire stories that the team would share on dark star filled nights. He was going to miss Stink Bombs home cooking. And Freeze Blade's warm smile, oh, how he was going to miss that when they got the kid back to normal. But he was mostly going to miss all the fun times he had with his team. He would be gone and they might move on, but it would never be the same without him around anymore.

The thoughts of his team were stopped short as he opened his eyes to the beast's screams of pain. He watched as it reared up, backing away from him and kicking up the sand water, confused and puzzled.

" **RIDE THE LIGHTNING!** "

The bubble sounding voice was instantly recognized. His head turned sideways, spotting Zap as he shot another bolt of lightning from his mouth, hitting the beast's eye and made it back away from him further as Snap Shot swam over to him, taking one of his arms and slinging it over his head, helping him up and swim off to safety while Zap kept the beast distracted for them to escape. He didn't need to worry for the dragon's safety. He knew Zap could out speed both of them in a blink of an eye if he wanted to. He could even out speed the beast in a wink and out of danger in a flash.

Soon, they broke through the surface, swimming to the shore line where everyone else waited for them.

"Yer gonna be fine mate. Everythin' will be fine now." Snap Shot tried to reassure him.

Was he reassuring him? He couldn't tell. His head was swimming and he was losing focus from the blood loss. Even his vision was starting to blur. Casting a glance to his side, he moved his hand a bit and grimaced. He was lucky to be born without bones, but seeing inner tissues of flesh was quiet gruesome to see. Blood dripped out from the wound, mixing with the sea water that he pretty sure was bad for it to be touching his wound.

Making it to the shore line, he hardly registered the hand that grabbed at him and pulled him out of the water, or barely recognize Spy Rise's frantic screaming as he asked about his wound, or see the faces of his friends clearly as they tried to keep him steady. His head pounded, his body sore and tired, his focus going in and out. He didn't even realize that he fell over on his side, blacking out as everyone rushed to his aid, falling into the darkness.

* * *

Kaos grinned as he watched the squid fall over in his mirror. It was delectably fun to watch those Skyfools suffer. Who knew that releasing an ancient water beast into the waters of White Pearl Beach would be so fun to watch? Bonus for wounding not one but TWO Skylosers! He cackled evilly, feeling triumph in the palm of his hands.

He ceased his laughing when there came a knock on his door and Glumshanks came peeking in. "Well? Did you find it?"

"No Lord Kaos. We've searched everywhere but we couldn't find it anywhere in the castle or outside it. It's simply nowhere to be found."

He growled, crossing his arms. This was bad. Even he knew when things were going to get messy. It took a whole army to bring back that one Wildendog in thick chains, and now it was free in Skylands. He knew it was smart, smarter than the average Wildendog. It would be tricky to track it down and capture it all over again. And even worse, it would take more than an army to bring it down this time now that it was evilized. "Gather the trolls and have them go out into search parties. I want my Wildendog found before the Skydorks find it first!"

"Yes Lord Kaos. Right away." Glumshanks left the room, leaving him to ponder on how to recapture his monster once again, failing to see the image of a worried Roller Brawl appear on the mirror holding a babyfied wildcat in her arms.

* * *

 **Gsv prmt lu gsv yvzhgh rh olhh uiln srh xszrmh, gsv ovzwvi rh dlfmwvw zmw wldm, mld dsl droo hzb dszg tlvh?**


	12. It

_LiteFox: I'm sorry if I made you cry! I didn't mean to! Wash isn't dying! I promise!_

 _Crim: Night Shift might have a little crush~ You have to wait a while to see~ Yes, I know. And he'll keep having appearances in the story!_

 _SnowPrincess20: Just think of the alphabet and flip the order it goes in around._

 _icepelt2000: Am I? Never really thought of that. Your question will be answered in this chapter._

 _Guest: Thanks! Glade you liked them!_

 _Guest 2: Uh, thanks? I guess. I admit that I feel Spy is a bit out than what he really seems, but it helps move the story along. Plus, it's really really funny._

* * *

This land was new. Everything it could see was not the same as the land it once lived on. The trees, the grass, the rocks, even the land itself were not the same as it once remembered. But what was greatly different from everything was the sense. Everything around it, farther than it can even smell anything, it could sense things. And its sight. It once could see great distances before, but now it could see even greater lengths than before! And this power! Ooooh, this power! It had to thank the little bald gremlin if they ran into each other again. It knew it was strong before, but now, now it could crush anything in its path!

Hehn hehn hehn heeeehn. Oh it could get use to this new change. It could get _veeerry_ use to them.

Its ears flickered, turning upwards. Oh? Now its sense of hearing has also improved? Good. It listened, carefully, staying hidden in the shadows of the bushes.

"I'm telling you! They certainly have no respect for me!"

"Maybe you're over reacting a little. I mean, you do so much for them."

"Exactly! I feed them, wash them, even letting them play with my beautiful tail!"

"And what a lovely tail it is dear."

"Oh, I know dearie. But Those Brats Have No Respect For Beauty!"

"Dear! They're our children!"

"Monsters more like it!"

Its ears twitched, following the voices clearly. It slowly began to smile. Some game to hunt? Well, it wouldn't hurt to try out some new meat in this strange new land. It chuckled, creeping against the bushes, noting how much lighter and silent its new paws were. Following the voices, it peeked out between the leaves of the bushes, smiling as it found its new prey.

Bullpigs. Big fat ones. One female, and the other male. Both were mates, and by the smell of the female, she had her younglings moons ago. The female was larger than the male, in size and in attitude. Sharp tusks stuck out from their lower middle jaws and their horns were big, curling inwards in the back and another set of horns in front, much smaller and pointed slightly out wards on the sides before turning inwards and pointed out, used like a battering ram that could crush and pierce an unfortunate soul. By the look of their back legs, it was clear that despite their big size, they were built for speed and could charge at any monument when they feel threatened. Longs tails swung in the back, usually used for swatting flies away or wrapping around a predator's throats. Yikes. It would have to be careful for this hunt.

But luck was on its side. The wind was carrying its sent the opposite direction, giving it the advantage of a sneak attack. Now, which one will be the lucky hunted one? The male or the female? That was a tricky choice. It always was when it hunted mates. Should it go for the male? Or should it go for the female? Such a tough choice. Well, preferably it would go for the males. Why not? Males were bigger and proved to be much of a challenge to fight. And it did love the challenges of a fight. But, the females sometimes were bigger than the males, and could be a little more of a challenge. But what it didn't want was a gang up. It was a loner, it didn't hunt in packs or a team. No. It preferred to be alone, hunting what it can and out smarting even the bigger foes than it was. So when it was ganged up on a hunt? Either it tried to outsmart them, which was always its first choice or run. And running was not its favorite option. It did more out smarting than running.

So now which was going to be its dinner? The male or…

"I can't stand those brats! Oh! That's it! We are leaving!"

"To where dear?"

"Anywhere! Those little monsters are old enough to fend for themselves now. If we're lucky we'll be on the other side of the hill before they notice that we're gone."

It frowned. By the smell of the female it knew she was right about being old enough to feed without her, but that didn't mean that they were old enough to fend for themselves.

"But dearie! They're are children! Our little ones! Our babies!"

"And they deserve it! Come now dearie, think of it. Some children are abandoned at a younger and more fragile state."

"…t-that's true."

"And we didn't pick the home that they live in now if we knew it didn't have any good hiding spots for them."

"That's also true."

"And besides, there's plenty for them to eat around here. They wouldn't wander far off from safety."

"Hmmm."

Its eyes narrowed. It was having a good idea which was going to be dinner.

"And look at it this way sweetie. When we ditch the children, there'll be more us time."

"…I do miss our us time."

"And so do I dearie. My little mud slipper."

It almost gagged as the female nuzzled the male on the cheek, making hearts appear all around his head.

"Well, uh, heh heh. W-what if we have another set of children?"

"Oh? That won't be a problem for a long while. And if another set does come, well."

It got itself ready, eyes narrowed and set on its target.

"We'll just wait till they're old enough…"

It growled lowly, ears laid back on its head. It was not liking where the female was going with this.

"Then leave them."

It eyes snap wide, teeth bare as it growled. That's it! It charged, heading straight for the female as both hogs looked up in alarm. Its eyes were set on the neck of the female. One swift bite and it would be over quickly.

However, the male wasn't as chicken as it expected. It halted, leaping high as the male ran underneath with his head bowed down. It landed back on the ground on all four, making a small tremor due to its newly gained size. It snorted, looking back at the male as he skied to a halt, turning to face it. The determination in the male's eyes would clearly be formidable…but. It jumped to the right, dodging the female as she charged this time. She made her way over to her mate, looking back with the same fire in her eyes.

It frowned, unamused. Clearly they weren't going to let this be an easy fight. But if it played the cards just right. "It's a shame, really. A young litter, all alone without mommy or daddy around anymore to teach them of the dangers that lurk about in these woods. What a shame." It smirked a bit as it saw their reactions. A new gift to speak and understand different species now. "Too bad. I guess once I'm done with you two, I'll head off and put them out of their misery as well."

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM OUR CHILDREN!"

"We'll make sure you never have a meal ever again!"

Its smirk widened. "Oh au contraire. You see, I'm bigger than you."

The male faltered slightly, but the female stood her ground. "So? We've fought enemies bigger than us before!"

The male regained his confidence quickly. "That's right! You're no different than any other predator!"

"Ah, is that so?" It raised its right paw, holding one claw higher than the rest. Something it picked up as it watched the bald gremlin through its prison. "Well, what would you think if I told you that I'm a Wildendog?" It smiled evilly as it saw the shock cross their faces as they now got a good look at it.

"…honey, get the little ones to safety."

The male looked his mate. "But—"

"GO!"

It watched as the male gave his mate a look of empathy and hope before running off into the bushes. It smiled. Let the male run, the female looked like she could last it a few days. "My, my. And here I thought you didn't like your offspring."

The female snorted. "I don't."

It frowned.

"But I still love them enough to know that with you around, they won't be safe." The female bowed her head, stomping her hove to the ground.

It smiled. "Good choice of letting your mate get to them safely then."

She snorted, puffing up dust. "And why's that?"

It crouched down, positioning to attack. "Because they'll only have one parent to look after them now."

* * *

The return to the academy was a stressful one, that he couldn't deny. Even deep down he knew it was a slim chance that they made it back in time. And even if they did make it, there was another chance that the effort was all for nothing. The cut was deep. Very deep. So deep that it had cut into the lung. He shivered. It was a really gruesome image to remember. But not as bad as the loss of blood. It took anything that they had to slow the bleeding down enough to get him to the infirmary alive, but even now he doubted that they would have blood to spare since his was much different than the rest of them.

His teeth clenched harder, hard enough that he bit through his glove and pierced the top layer of his finger. He ignored the pain that he was putting himself in. Dame Wash Buckler! Why did he have to go and almost get himself killed?! He saved Snap Shot but ended being the one needing rescued! Of all the dumb things he could pull!

Whimpering noises beside him took his focus off the double doors. Fire Kraken sat on the floor, holding his baton in a tight grasp as his tail wrapped around him like a blanket. The poor fire maker. Once he saw the condition their leader was in, he went silent, grasping his baton close to him and stayed near his legs as a sort of means for comfort.

Sympathy crossed his face, releasing his finger from his mouth and placed his hand on the dragon's head. He barely moved from the touch, but he expected that from him. The poor guy was so worried for the squid that his happy domineer was just…gone. He could even say the same thing about the rest of the team.

The mood was melancholy, something unreal to a team that was usually quirky and upbeat. But even they could get depressed, if not sorrowful. When they saw what happened to him, everything went downhill. They didn't move, they didn't smile, no one even cracked a simple joke to lighten the mood or lift the heavy feeling in the air. Not even the upbeat air devil said or did anything as he sat on his jet, eyes glued to the floor and one foot taping on the ground. He may be down, but he could still get very impatient.

Even Grilla Drilla was too depressed to actually get annoyed by the constant taping Boom Jet was making. No, he was busy trying to distract himself by grooming Stink Bomb's fur, picking tiny bugs and nats off him. Stink Bomb allowed him to, and even if he didn't need the pampering, he wouldn't have much to say against it or against a much bigger teammate.

Hoot Loop was trying to cheer up his fellow bird friend with tricks, but even he could seem to hide his sad frown on his beak, too depressed to even float about like he usually did. Free Ranger at least tried to look like he was enjoying the little show, not wanting to bring the team down more than they were.

Their earth element friends weren't with them. They were too anger with themselves to be around the team. They mostly blamed themselves for letting one of their friends get hurt. He wished he could somehow make them feel less down than what they felt, but what good was he at in giving comfort in a situation like this? He was nowhere near as good like Wash Buckler. Taking a guess of what they might be doing right now, Rubble Rouser could possibly be eating like he always did when he was stressed and Doom Stone would be sparing in training facility, possibly going to stay there all day.

He could tell that poor Magna Charge was nervous. The little metal items that his magnets were picking up were a clear sign of it, even getting stronger by the minutes to slowly pull some of the metal chairs close to him. But the most worried out of the group had to be Blast Zone and Rattle Shake. The furnace knight wouldn't stop pacing by the doors, constantly looking up at the lit up sign that clearly stated that his best friend, if not brother bonded, was still in surgery. He growled and resumed to pace, his fire growing warmer each time that he checked to see if anything changed. Rattle Shake, however, had distant himself from the rest of the group, secluding himself with his back turned on them, curled around by his own tail with his gun laid feet away from him. His pet snake stayed by his master, not leaving him alone and stayed by him like a loyal friend.

His frowned deepened. It was a heavy time to worry for their friend's life. There's a fifty/fifty chance of the surgery even succeeding, and even after that there was the long road of recovery and the winding chance that he could take a turn for the worst…and…if he didn't make it…who would be leader then?

"It's off!"

Everyone looked up at the furnace knight. Blast Zone was looking at the sign, which was indeed off. Anxiousness bubbled in them as they locked their eyes on the door, waiting for the news of their friend.

It wasn't long before a male Mabu came out, white garment cloths stained in blue blood, taking the gloves off his hands. Immediately, they swarmed him, asking about a million questions per few seconds. He didn't answer, just letting them ask their questions till they calmed down enough for him to speak. "I got bad news."

A jolt of fear hit him. Was it…unsuccessful?

"But I also have good news."

His fear subsided slightly.

"I'll start with bad news first." The Mabu took out a chart he held under his arm, reading off the paper. "For starters, the wound was fairly deep, cutting into the right lungs side, making it fairly difficult for him to breathe. The cuts on his back had been infected slightly by algae that had been growing on the rocks, and the wound was slightly infected, so both had to be cleaned thoroughly. The cuts were patched up quickly but the wound had to have stitching's. There had been slight problems with that but we were able to close it. The right lung will have some trouble before it can breathe properly again but its damage was not as serious as it seems. Furthermore, the loss of blood." He paused a bit, looking up from the charts. "It was hard to find a suitable substance that would work as replaceable blood, but luck had it that there was some copper-rich protein hemocyanin around."

"A-and." Fire Kraken, finally saying something after hours of silence, squeaked. "T-the good news?"

The Mabu smiled warmly. "With plenty of rest and regular cheek ups to make sure he's healing fine, Wash Buckler will be up and about again in a few weeks' time."

Hearing that news, the heavy air lifted and the team breathed easily as they almost burst into tears hearing that their friend would be a-o-kay. In fact, Fire Kraken let a few tears slip.

A small smile tugged at his face. Everything would be fine.

* * *

"Make him shut up! Make him shut up! Please get him to be quiet!"

"I'm trying okay?!" Roller Brawl snapped as she bounced the toddler in her arms. For the past hour she had been trying to calm the crying tike down to no avail. The poor wildkitten had seen the wound and had thoroughly refused to calm down in any of the slightest. His crying however was not going well with the others.

He was such a loud screamer that nearly everyone in the academy could hear him. And by nearly everyone, it was **_everyone_**.

Blades growled as he tried to deafen the sound of wails by adding another pillow to the piles that his head was buried under. "Is there an off switch or something that could shut him up already?!"

"He's not a robot you idiot!" Roller Brawl hissed. "You have to be gentle with toddlers."

He stuck his head out from his pile. "Well take him somewhere else then!"

"You can move too you know!"

"Well you move! I was here first!"

"It doesn't matter who was here first! I outa teach you a lesson in manners!"

"Good ahead! Try! Because you're about to be handed a world of pain by a legandar-OW!"

Night Shift huffed, giving another good whack to the dragoon's head. "There will be no fighting around the kitten!" He snorted, giving the young dragon a glare to make sure he understood.

Blades mumbled under his breathe but did nothing as he rubbed his sore head.

Satisfied, he went over to Roller Brawl. Reaching into his robe, he took out the ball, holding it out so Freeze Blade would take it. He frowned when Freeze Blade gave the ball a glance before breaking down into tears again.

"Thanks for trying Shift." Roller Brawl sighed, readjusting her hold on baby Freeze so that he was crying in her shoulder. "So, what's the news on Wash?"

Night Shift sighed, shrugging his shoulders as he shook his head. "From what I know he's still under surgery."

"And the guys?"

"They still refuse to move. I have yet to find Trap Shadow, but he'll show up on his own."

"They're taking hard huh?" Blades asked.

"Very." He sighed, shaking his head. "Never in the years we have been in a team has he ever got hurt so greatly as of now."

Roller Brawl frowned, patting Freeze Blade's back. A moment of silence hung over all of them with only the sound of Freeze Blade's muffled cries.

"…so." Blade broke the silence, looking up at the vampire. "If Wash Buckler can't lead you guys, then, who's the leader now?"

"…I…I don't know."

"What?" Roller Brawl stared at the boxer like he was crazy. "You gotta be joking."

"Yeah, there has to be someone suitable to be leader in the team."

"Team? Yes. Possibility of becoming a leader? No."

"Shift."

"Look, I know the team means good and all, but none of us are qualified to be a leader. Spy Rise and Blast Zone have good hindsight of what's best for the team, but they don't have the right experience to be leader like Wash Buckler did. And what's worse is that they don't have the same level head as him, so they loss focus more easily." Night Shift snorted, crossing his arms. "The others, including me, are not capable of having such task." He let out a long sigh. "So it most likely means we're leaderless for the time being."

Roller Brawl frowned. The SWAP Force? Leaderless? That didn't sit well. In fact, without their leader who was going to give the commands? Or stop mindless fights? Or make decisions? Or, heck, even help plan out some crazy scheme cause they felt board or something? There was no way anyone could fit those qualities to replace Wash Buckler.

"Night Shift!"

Heads turned to the doorway as Stink Bomb came running in. "Great news! Wash Buckler is going to be okay!"

A small smile played on her face, watching the two discuss their friend's condition.

"Have you seen Trap Shadow anywhere? He's got to know about this!"

"No. I have no clue…all though, he did leave a note behind when I went to see if he was in his room."

"Yeah? What did it say?"

"Gone fishing."

* * *

"Are you sure about this? Cause, ah, I don't think my ship can handle this much, uh…weight."

Trap Shadow snorted, polishing the sharp end of the harpoon. "It'll be fine Flynn. This baby can almost pierce through anything. Besides, if there was any trouble, old Thumppers over there can take care over it." He pointed a thumb at Thumpback as the large whale loaded up the harpoons in their holders. "Besides." A crazed grin came upon the panther's face. "I've never hunted a big old fish before." His lips pulled back to show his gleaming white canines. " _Especially one who picked the wrong squid to mess with!_ " He chuckled lowly, claws tapping at the hard metal and making the Mabu uneasy.

* * *

 _White._

 _All he could see was white. It surrounded him. He blinked as he looked around. Every direction that he looked, the same color was everywhere. Well, not exactly everywhere. His eyes turned upwards, making an awed sound a beautiful colored lights danced across the star filled black sky. The moon was full that night, illuminated by the colors of the lights. A tiny giggle left his mouth, grinning happily as he walked, wobbly in his snow suit that he felt was too warm for him to wear. The white color stuff crunched at each step he took. He grinned happily, stopping at a low valley of smooth white stuff all around._

 _With a giggle, he sat down in the white stuff, scooping up a hand full in each mitten covered paws and dumping the stuff on his legs. He continued to scoop up the white stuff and dump it onto his legs, burying them completely underneath that only his boots stuck out. He squealed happily, throwing his arms up into the air. Then, a gust a cold air blew into his face, ruffling his grey fur. He erupted out in laughter, loving the cool wind his face. His laughter ended as he felt something grabbing him underneath his arms and lifting him out from the white stuff. He blinked as he was lifted higher and higher up before his body twisted around. He squealed out in happiness, reaching out with his covered paws to touch the soft and warm smiling face._

 _She complied to his request, bringing him closer that their foreheads touched. He giggled, rubbing his face against hers. His eyes were lost as he looked into her warm, dazzling bight ember eyes that were filled to the brim with love and adoration. Her fur was as soft as silk and white as the snow around them. Her arms held onto him with security and protection that held him close to her. Her dress was beautiful, a clear light blue that faded into white as it went down, covered in many snowflake patterns and sizes._

 _"_ _My baby." She whispered, planting a warm kiss to his cheek. "My sweet little boy." She nuzzled his face, dotting him with love and affection. He giggled, hugging her face and closed his eyes. At the moment, he felt contempt. Like everything in the world was right for once. As if all the troubles were gone forever. He could stay like this forever, forever in her arms. But forever didn't last as he was pulled away and placed back down on his little rear, looking up at her and giving a little whine as he reached out to her in grabbing motions. She didn't pick him up like he had hoped, but instead she knelled down to his level, still holding the warm and caring look in her eyes._

 _"_ _Hush my child,  
Don't cry.  
Let the winds pass us by.  
Soon winter will be over,  
And the sky will be blue  
once again.  
Hear the world whisper,  
As it calls out your name.  
The fish and haring come to greet you,  
As the summer birds sing you a song.  
Nature will guide you on your journey,  
With the fox leading the way.  
The moon and stars tell you stories,  
The sun gives you wisdom and guidance,  
The river carves your path,  
And the lights of the frozen north…  
…will lead you to me again."_

 _She stood up, smiling warmly at him. He whined, reaching to her more. What was she doing? Why wasn't she picking him up like before? Tears pricked at his eyes, whining louder now. Tears were showing in her eyes as well as she moved away from him, still smiling at him with the same warmth and love, though sadness could be hinted in her form._

 _"_ _Will lead you to me…"_

 _He cried out, tears spilling down his cheeks as she started to fade as she reached out for him as well._

 _"…_ _again…"_

 _She vanished. Disappearing completely as if she was a ghost. More tears spilled down his face as he cried his lungs out. He wanted her! He wanted her back now!_

 _"…_ _freeze blade?…"_

 _"…_ _Freeze Blade."_

"Freeze Blade, come on wake up sweetie." Roller Brawl gently shook the toddler, trying to arouse him from his sleep. She knew she would get an ear full of cries again, even after she had finally been able to get him to calm down and put him to sleep. But now she worried for him as he started to whimper in his sleep, almost like he was in pain. "Come on, it's okay."

His eyes snapped open, looking around as he gasped. After a moment or two, tears were running down his cheeks again.

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay. It was only a dream." She held him close, letting him cry on her shoulder. "It's okay now. I'm here. I'll always be here for you…just like how you were there for me…"

* * *

"And what's wrong about me being temporary leader?! I can qualify as one!"

"No, you can't Boom Jet." Spy Rise sighed, rubbing his face in slight irritation. "You don't have the right standers for being leader."

Boom Jet growled, crossing one leg over the other. "And what are my standers exactly?!" His anger diminished when Spy Rise gave him a glare right up to his face, boring into his goggles with fire in them. "…point taken…" He turned and left, shoulder slumped and head hung.

With a smirk, Spy Rise crossed his arms and looking about the rest of the present SWAP Force in the room. "Now that that's been established, it now seems that there is really only six main candidates that could potentially be temporary leader."

"And those candidates would be?" Night Shift questioned.

"Well for starters, there's you, me, Blast Zone, Magna Charge, Rubble Rouser, and Grilla Drilla."

"…excuse me?"

"Well, next to being a grump and all, you have plenty of qualities that match up to a leader's—"

"Pass." Night Shift huffed, following after Boom Jet.

"…o…kay, five candidates then. So." He slapped his hands together, looking at the four possible temporary leaders. "As we all know, some of us are slightly having better chances of being leader. I for one see that there will be slight disagreement on who we want as our temporary leader, but this will not be decided by just us." Spy Rise looked about the confused faces. "No, better yet we are allowing others to vote who they think should be leader."

"Sooo, why are we all in the arena again?" Grilla Drilla asked, looking around as Skylanders filled up the seats high above them.

"Eh, the vote ended in a tie between Blast Zone and I with you four, er, three being the highest next to us. So we kinda have duke it out a bit till there's only one man standing."

A smirk played on Rubble Rouser's face. "So in othe' words, we punch each othe' till they can' stand no more."

"In a way, yes."

"Good!" His hammer was out, patting it in his hands as he saw Spy Rise pale slightly at the new size and upgraded hammer. "Just got a' upgrade fo' my beauty here an' I've been wantin' to test her out on you fellas!"

Grilla Drilla snorted, pounding his fists together. "Good luck with that!"

Magna Charge whirled with delight. It had been a long while since the team had a scuffle against each other, and he thrilled beyond belief to have a tussle with them again.

Blast Zone remained quiet, hovering there like he had when they first arrived.

Spy Rise sighed, reaching up to his googles. "And the fight begins…" His googles fell over his eyes, lighting up with life. "Now."

* * *

It smirked, walking along the tree lines, digging its claws into the ground that rid of the blood that coated them. Today seemed like an excellent day. It was free to roam about now, and with its new power, it wouldn't be long before it conquered more land. But it was enough. No, it needed a challenge, something that would help drive it forward and not be dulled in its quest. Yes, something to rival it, something with power that almost matched its own, something like…what did that bald gremlin call them again?

Something that started with an e and ended with a me. Eme…eme…eme…AH! Now it remembered. Enemy. The bald gremlin called them enemies. But, what would be _its_ enemy? Nothing here seemed intelligent enough to be any threats or enemies to it. No, it needed something that was smart, intelligent, tough, unique, something like—

"What? Are you sure you saw this and not seeing things again?"

"It's true! They're at it again! Those weird swappers are fighting each other once again!"

It stopped in its tracks, turning its ears upwards. Weird swappers? It gazed up into the tree were two birds sat perched on a tree branch high up with their backs to it.

"And you won't believe this, but before they started to fight, the grumpy one, you know, the one with the big black hands with no arms and such." The one on the left ruffled her feathers.

The one on the right preened one of her wings as a feather was out of place. "Yes, yes. I believe they call that one a vampire or sorts."

"Well he left before the fight even started!"

"Um, is that true?"

"Yes! And you recalled how I kept telling you how he always joins in on the fight, right?"

"Every time."

Its ears twitched. Always one for a fight? That sounded like something that enjoyed fighting immensely or some twig who just wants to prove their place in a fight. Well, it just had to think a bit about this vampire.

"Well it was totally different! He left without a fuss and they fought and—!"

"Really darling, I wish not be rude or anything but you're boring me with these stories that never change. You watch those swappers all the time yet they are nothing out of the sorts. All they do is fight, and argue, cause trouble, fight, do something silly, and need I go on? All they ever do is make a mess of things for everything and everyone. Really, what change could possibly come to them?"

"…well, there is the…"

"…the what?"

It sighed, laying down it the cool bare ground, laying its head upon its legs. It flattened its ears not caring to listen in on their conversation anymore.

"…the…"

"Darling I can't hear what you're saying. There is what?"

It closed its eyes, trying to get some rest.

"…there's the baby."

"BABY?! But they're all men!"

Ears went up on its head.

"Well, believe it or not, they have a baby with them. A very small one at that. Seemed to be only five moons old."

"Darling, please. Tell me you are joking! They can't really have an offspring with them! Let alone have offspring!"

"But it's not their offspring!"

Eyes slowly opened wide, lifting its head up.

"…what?"

"It's true! It has no resemblance to any of them. And the smell just proves it too."

"…you don't mean?"

"I believe I do mean. And I'm sad to say that the child might have been orphaned, lost or, worse."

"Oh don't say it darling! Don't!" The bird on the right covered her whole head in her feathers. "Please don't say that it might have been—!"

"Abandoned."

It frowned, knotting its brows together as it looked up at the birds.

"No! No! NO! It can't be true!"

"I wish I knew which one is true, but I can't. I don't even know myself."

The right bird huffed, puffing her chest out as she looked at the left bird. "Well, we'll just have to…'inspect' this little problem then."

The left bird shivered, letting out a coo. "You mean spy?"

"Whatever it takes to learn the truth. Whatever it takes." The right bird opened her wings, jumping off the branch and took off into the air.

The left one stayed behind, jittering in excitement. "Ooooh~! Spying on the Skylanders! How fun! Wait for me!" She took off after her friend, flapping her wings as fast as she could.

It watched them as they flew off, pondering. Skylanders…yes, it had heard of Skylanders before. It didn't quite believe that some would still be around today, but the bald gremlin kept mentioning them while it was still in its prison. A smile came upon its muzzle. Yes, they sounded prefect to be enemies. Strong, smart, different, fast and even probably bigger than it was! And these weird swappers sounded prefect to be its first enemies!

Its smile vanished, thinking about the child. If these weird swappers were as bad as they sounded, and that it wasn't even their own…

Its eyes hardened, getting off the ground. It would follow these birds. They seemed to have some useful knowledge and whereabouts of these Skylanders. Besides. Its tongue traced the dried blood layer on its teeth, grinning. If they were a challenge, it could possible win in the end.

* * *

 **Put you vote in in who you think should win this fight!**


	13. Winner

_Fangirl-Does-Write: Oooh, do you need a hug?_

 _Crim: Can't say who will win~_

 _LiteFox: It is never good when a Wildendog is on the loose! Well they can't always act happy and silly all the time right? Don't worry nothing will go wrong_ _…or will it? Freeze Blade flashbacks are assured!_

 _SnowPrincess20: Vote approved!  
_

 _Spyrisefan: You're excited._

 _Guest1: 1vote for Magna Charge!_

 _Guest2: Thank for your vote!_

 _The votes are in! Who will win! You have to read to find ouuuut~_

* * *

Stink Bomb yawned, stretching the arms as he walked down the hallway. He slept well last night, despite the certain noises going on in the arena, but he had slept through noisier nights. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary today. Wash Buckler was still in the med bay recovering and he was still certain that the guys were still battling since yesterday. Nothing out of the sort.

He entered the dining room, finding it slightly half way full with Skylanders that had gotten up early this morning and were either ideally chatting with friends or devouring their meals. He quickly spotted Doom Stone and Free Ranger, chatting away at something. He made his way over to them. "Hey guys."

Free Ranger, in the middle of telling Doom Stone his new stunt technique trick, which the Stonsapian had stopped listening to hours ago, turned his focus to Stink Bomb, smiling. "Oh hey Stinks! Hey, I was just telling Doomy here about my new stunt, you wanna hear about it?"

Stink Bomb shrugged. He had nothing better to do, so why not?

Worst.

Decision.

 ** _EVER._**

For two whole hours, or was it three? He didn't recall, but for many shorts hours his brain cells were dying each second he kept hearing Free Ranger go on and on about his stunt, repeating things he was certain the bird already said. Oh how he wish for a distraction right now!

"Hey Stink Bomb?"

His head shot up immediately. "Yes?"

"You were the last to leave the arena right?"

"Uh, yeah, I think."

"Do you know who was still battling then?" Doom Stone leaned close, holding his shield tight with excitement and anticipation.

Stink Bomb blinked a bit. "Well, last I remember before I left, Grilla Drilla was the first one to be beaten down following closely by Magna Charge, so I only saw Spy, Blast and Rubble Rouser—"

"Nope."

Everyone turned their heads as Rubble Rouser walked up to them, holding an ice pack against his right eye. "Sorry kid." He chuckled lightly. "They gone an' got me. Well, mostl' Spy." He lifted the ice pack off his eye, showing where his eyes _should_ be.

Everyone cringed and recoiled, but Doom Stone stood up immediately, face showing horror and deep concern.

"Oh don' get all worried or nothin'! I'm a rock golem!" He chuckled, placing the ice pack back over his eye. "I've surfed worse than thi'. It'll heal up in a day 'r two, good as new."

"What happened?" Stink Bomb asked as Doom Stone guided Rubble Rouser over to a seat next to him.

"Well, like I said, Spy gone an' got me good. By accident no doubt. Wasn' really watchin' where to jump an' one of his legs got me in the eye. But no real harm really."

"No HARM?! You lost an EYE!" Doom Stone exclaimed.

"Doomy, I've lost more than an eye befor'. I'll get better!"

Stink Bomb rolled his eyes and smiled, watching Doom Stone as he chastise Rubble Rouser for being so laid back about losing an eye.

* * *

Freeze Blade cooed as he crawled along the new green ground he was on, looking around with great interest by the new sight and smell. Earlier he had just woken up from a good nap next to the pretty thing. The pretty thing was still asleep when the big white thing took him away for the thing and brought him out here. He awed at the new surroundings, crawling over to the first thing that his eyes saw was the closest and examine it with wide interest as his beep blue foot nighty picked up small bits of dirt.

Grilla Drilla smirked, keeping a carefully eye on the kitten as he explored. He didn't have much to do at the moment and was taking the time to relax a bit. Though, he didn't count watching the babyfied team member. Oh well, things happened. He closed his eyes, taking in the deep fresh air. Aaaah, how good it felt to be out here away from the technology and cramped up rooms. Out in the woods, out in the open air, out in nature, far from anything annoying, well, as far as he can get away from the academy. Opening his eyes again, he huffed. Even he could use some time away from his crazy team once in a while.

"Oooooooooooo."

A small smile crossed his face as Freeze Blade was entranced at a lily in front of him. Well, there were a few exceptions. "You like the lily Freeze Blade?" He chuckled, walking over to the tot.

Freeze Blade hardly acknowledged the big white thing, having his focus solely on this new thing. He cooed, reaching out to touch it. His tiny fingers gently touched the new thing, feeling the soft feeling of this new thing.

"It's called a lily." Grilla Drilla said as he sat down next to the toddler. "It's a type of flower." He picked up the kitten, holding him in his arms.

Freeze Blade whined, reaching out to the new thing he was taken away from.

Grilla Drilla rolled his eyes as he smiled, picking the small flower off the ground and presenting it to the toddler, which he happily accepted. He grinned as baby Blade sniffed the flower, cooing as he traced his tiny hands over its petals. With the toddler's focus on the flower, he thought it was a good idea to check the kit for any ticks or tiny bugs in his fur.

While Grilla Drilla was busy cleaning the kit's fur, Freeze Blade was busy trying to figure out this new thing. It was pretty looking, and smelled nice, and it was soft touch, but what was it? He babbled as he examined this new thing, turning it over and tugging it lightly. He cooed in curiosity as he tugged at the things white looking things that surrounded the yellow thing. The white things were softer than the rest of the thing, and smelled nice too. He smiled, tugging at one of the white things harder. He decided that this new thing was goo—

Grilla Drilla nearly had a heart attack when the tike screamed out. "What?! What's the matter?!" He picked up the toddler, holding him up to his face. The little kitten was slowly hyperventilating, holding the lily close to his chest with his masked eyes big and wide. Instinct kicked in. Carefully, he began to gently grab Freeze Blade's tiny arm, thinking he might have hurt himself. He didn't find any injuries, easing his worry, but he did find out what made the kitten shriek. A flower petal, clutched tightly in his tiny little hand.

Freeze Blade whined quietly, looking at the white thing than back at the other thing in his hand, clutching them both tightly to his chest. Oh No! What did he do?! He just tugged on the white thing on the thing and it came off! Did he break it?!

Grilla Drilla sighed out in relief. "Calm down, it's okay. That's natural for a flower to lose its petals. Look I'll show you." He reached out to the lily, grabbing a few of its petals and pulled them off.

 _NOT_ a smart choice.

He cringed as Freeze Blade began to cry, holding the flower even tighter now. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting how sensitive babies can be with the items. Now he had to deal with a crying toddler. Night Shift was sure to kill him for this. But what did he do so wrong? All he did was pull off some flower petals from a lil—

DING!

And idea popped in his head. Getting off the ground, he lumbered off deeper in the woods.

Freeze Blade sniffled, tears flowing down his face like small rivers as he let out a small cry, clutching the thing very tightly in his tiny hands. He didn't dare loosen his grip on it, fearing that the white thing would pull off more of the things white things if he didn't hold onto it. Why?! Why did the white thing break more of the thing?! Was he mad at the thing or something?! He liked this thing! He wouldn't let the white thing destroy it! He rubbed his face with a tiny hand, sniffing…then sniffed again…and again…and let out a tiny sneeze, rubbing his nose and babbled in baby talk, opening his eyes. He blinked, once, and then twice, and let out a little awed sound.

Grilla Drilla smiled as he put the little kitten down. He looked around the area. The whole plain was filled with flowers, all with different colors and types. Plenty for a toddler to look around and see different flowers to touch and smell.

Freeze Blade cooed as he began to slowly crawl forward, looking at the new color things as he passed by. A small smile began to form on his face, giggling a little when one of the things tickled his ear. He babbled, looking at each new thing with great interest and wonder. One new thing was bent over, so he crawled over to it, leaning close to it and sniffed it, liking the new smell it gave off. A while later, his eyes caught sight of something interesting. Crawling over to it, he sat down, tilting his head to one side. This thing was…confusing. It was a deep dark red on the inside, yet it was also white on the outside. So…what color was it?

"You like that flower Freeze Blade?" Grilla Drilla asked, coming up from behind.

Freeze Blade turned his head and looked at the big white thing, babbling.

"Here, let me get it for you." Grilla chuckled, reaching over to grasp the flower when he stopped and looked closer at it. A small hum rumbled in his throat as his saw thorns covering the stem. Using the blade end of his glove, he cut the stem, letting the flower fall into his hand, and proceeded to cut off the remaining thorns. Once that was done, he handed the flower over to baby Freeze.

Freeze Blade happily took the flower, looking it over with great interest. He sniffed it, liking the smell it gave off. But then, his nose began to tickle, then itch, and then, he let out a sneeze.

His eyes widened as the flower in Freeze Blade's hand was coated in ice, surrounding the whole flower like an icy coat. _Hmm, guess he still has a bit of his power left in him._ He thought, watching the toddler stare at the frozen flower in confusion.

After a while, the kitten started to explore again, carrying the flower along with him wherever he went.

He giggled, pulling a light blue colored thing out from the ground and placed it in the small pile he made. He looked over his work. So far he had collected the colors of blue, purple, yellow, and white, all put into a big pile of colors. Babbling, he looked over each color. Once he was satisfied that he had made a big enough pile, he pounced on it, rolling around and laughing gleefully. He laughed and giggled, loving that he was in a pile of colors than he made. With a giggling fit, he sat up, covered he to toe with colors of the things. Once he calmed down enough, he looked over at the big white thing.

Grilla Drilla was fast asleep, laying on the ground while snoring lightly.

Freeze Blade tilted his head in confusion. Why was the big white thing asleep? Was it nap time? He crawled over to the big white thing, sitting down right in front of it. He wondered what to do, board now that he had his fill of fun and scent of this place. He wanted to go back to the other things now, but he had no clue to which way to go and only the big white thing knew, but he was asleep. He whined, trying to wake the big white thing and tell him that he wanted to go back now. He whined louder, frowning when the big white thing still continued to sleep. After countless tries to wake up the big white thing, he huffed, having enough of being ignored and was about to wander off to find the other things on his own, a strong gust of wind blew by, picking up the scent of the things.

He cooed, holding on to his frozen thing as the wind pass by. Once it did, the scent of the things was now in the air. A small sneeze escaped him, rubbing his hands against his face. Looking back at the big white thing, he blinked when he saw a blue thing stuck on him.

He smiled slowly, getting an idea.

* * *

He breathing was heavy, his body sore and aching, he was certain that one of his legs were broken. Again. He groaned, shifting his arm painfully. He was going to feel that in the morning. His gave went up to his appoint.

Blast Zone.

The furnace knight stood far away from him, hunched over and breathing heavy, but still standing.

He huffed. He knew that Blast Zone would be hard to fight, but he didn't recall him being this tough before! He took in a slow breathe, letting it out calmly. He shouldn't have under estimated his teammate. Blast Zone was not one to back down when something involved Wash Buckler. Or something that partly involved the squid.

Well, mostly. He and Wash Buckler did have a deep connection with each other, knowing each other far longer than the rest of the team.

They simply weren't teammates, they were brothers of a deep bond that couldn't be broken.

But no matter how deep his connection was with Wash Buckler, Spy Rise had to beat him. He needed to win this. Not for himself but for the good of the team. And to make up for what he had d—

Pain, it rippled throughout his body as a fist collided with his stomach. His eyes widened, slowly and painfully looking up as Blast Zone looked at him, fire eyes filled with apology before everything went black.

* * *

He felt guilty. He really did. It wasn't like him to be fighting like this, not, at, all. But after seeing Wash Buckler's condition, he couldn't help but feel that it was all his fault. Why did he decline his offer to go to White Pearl Beach? Why did he come along? He could have done something to help, or maybe stop him from getting hurt, or maybe gone after the Snap Shot himself.

But he didn't. He didn't go. He didn't come along. He didn't help, or prevent Wash Buckler from getting hurt, or anything! What good was he if he wasn't there to help his friends out? He was there when Freeze Blade got turned into a toddler, so why didn't he go after the troll? He could have caught up to the vehicle eventually. So why didn't he?

He sighed, shaking his head with his body slumped against the wall. He was tired and throbbing slightly in pain, not as much pain he was certain Spy Rise was in right now. He glanced at the unconscious tech as he was being looked over and cared for his injuries. Most notably by Gearshift.

He felt slightly less or more guilty for putting Spy Rise in his sorry state, especially when he did it while his admirer was watching. He couldn't quite understand what that Trap Master saw in him that made her like him so much. And he couldn't figure out how he was able to get her to open up her feelings about him when they had what some would say a heart to heart conversation. Oh sure, it was obvious that Spy had a deep crush on her, but who would guess that she also had feelings for him as well?

He didn't, Spy didn't, no did! She was very good at hiding her feelings if no one knew. Way good.

"Somethin' on your mind mate?"

His head snapped away from the sad scene before him to Snap Shot as he walked over to him, not wearing his shoulder guards and had his left shoulder wrapped up. "You look a bit down in the muck mate. Somethin' botherin' you?"

He didn't say anything, only twisting his head away. He didn't feel like sharing his thoughts at the moment right now.

Snap Shot stood beside him, leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, looking at Spy Rise. "You made quite a mess out of him. Part of me almost thinks ya did it on propose." He looked over at him. "I knew you really didn't mean it mate. You're too nice to do something like that."

"Then why did you say that I did it on propose?" He growled lowly under his breath, not liking where this conversation was going.

"Don't be too hard on yourself mate. No one knew nothin' about anythin' when we went to the beach. If anythin', it was me fault for being out in the sea so far from the shore." Snap Shot paused, looking at his shoulder. "Tuffy was really in a hissin' fit once she saw my wound, not lettin' me ferget about it even for a moment." He chuckled. "Ah, you're lucky not to have someone to worry over you constantly yet. I'm still gettin' use to it."

He chuckled lightly, rubbing the back of his head. "S-sorry about that. I really should have stopped Trap Shadow from daring her."

"Ah, don't you worry mate! It's not every day that someone walks up to you and slaps you across the face before tellin' them that they love im." He rubbed the side of his cheek. "Kinda happy to have scales fer skin."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "So, is there a real reason why you decided to talk to me?"

"Actually yes, there is."

He turned to look at the croc, almost jumping on him when he held out a familiar item.

"Been meanin' to give this back to you fellas." He smiled, holding out Wash Bucklers hat in his hand. "Wash gave it to me to hold onto and I never gotten the chance to give it back."

"Wha-his—"

"MY HAT!"

Both Skylanders blinked as a blue tentacle wrapped around the hat and lifted it up above them. They followed it as it went up to the seats, plopping the hat right on top a very familiar person's head. "Oh! I feel like a whole pirate again!"

"Wash Buckler!" Snap Shot exclaimed as Blast Zone stared up at the octopus. "What are you doin' here mate? Shouldn't you be restin' or somethin'?"

"H-how long have you been awake?!" Blast Zone couldn't keep his happiness out of his voice.

"I've been up for hours dude! Give or take two to three hours." Wash Buckler shook his left hand as his right arm was in a sling, wearing only his white under shirt with his coat hanging on his shoulders. "Got to say, I'm impressed that you took Spy down Blast! That fight was epic! Even when he was all like, 'Ah! No! Don't hurt me!', or, 'OW! My poor leg!', and oh! I really laughed when he—"

" ** _NONE! OF! THAT! HAPPENED!_** "

Wash Buckler's eyes widened before taking off with a fully awake and very angry Spy Rise chasing after him.

They watched as the two ran around the stadium, Wash Buckler screaming apologies and Spy Rise yelling at him to go back to the med bay.

"Well." Snap Shot chuckled. "At least his spunk is still intact."

* * *

 **1! 2! 3! 4! Wzmxv gsv Hfnyz! R! R! R!**

 **Blast Zone: 3**

 **Spy Rise: 2**

 **Magna Charge: 1**


	14. Skeleton Zamba

_SnowPrincess20: Well, not really. The eye will grow back._

 _VictorianWriting: OMG! It's so good to see you again! How have you been?! And yes, I will continue!_

 _Crim: Yes, so close, yet so far away._

 _Fangirl-Does-Write: I will! Thanks!_

 _LiteFox: I will forgive you for being late. Yeah, I thought of giving Rubble Rouser the ability to grow back a few small parts of his body since I figured that he was made out of rocks and such. Blast Zone is happy to see his brother again! And don't worry, Wash will get back in the med bay_ _…unwillingly._

 _Guest 1: There Is No Limit To Loving Skylanders!_

 _Guest 2: I'm sorry but no._

 _Guest 3 or a.k.a. March 5: This was updated on your birthday? Well happy birthday to you! Don't worry, there will be more, just wait and see. ;) The arena is used to sharpen skills, them don't mean to hurt anyone on purposely, promise._

 _HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! Or, late Halloween. Heheh. I was planing on updating this on Halloween but I wasn't finished yet, so, yeah. Anyway, here's a new chapter for you to enjoy! Love ya~!_

* * *

The Med Bay.

If there was one thing in this entire universe that he couldn't stand, it was the med bay. He didn't dislike it, oh no, he just didn't have the greatest fondest memories of the place. He had been in and out of the place so many times he was sure to have a personal record. Most of the time though he went there only to pay some visits, mostly for his teammates that had been injured or to apologize for his teams behavior. But when he was sent there rest?

Nope! Nope! **NOPPITY NOPE**!

Which were his exact words when they dragged him back to the med bay. He was not happy in the least of sense. And neither was his team when they had to drag him back to the med bay to rest after escaping from it. Yep, you read it right. He would constantly escape from the med bay. Why? Simple! He was like Freeze Blade in this place, always trying to move about and got bored fairly easily when there was simply nothing to do for _hours_ on end. Plus, there wasn't anything good on the small screen TV.

But if there was any good out of this…Ah, who was he kidding? It was boring! Not to mention that he didn't have anything to do besides lay around in bed with the restraint on his waist to keep him there. No, seriously. Spy Rise had _literally_ put a restraint on his to keep him in bed after trying, and succeeding a few times, to escape from this place. The dude just couldn't take the hint that he just didn't want to be here! How hard could that be?

"Boring. Seen it. Boring. Too many reruns. Pretty sure I saw that already. Boring. Boring. Boring. Oh wait! Boring!" Wash Buckler sighed, switching the TV off and flopping back against the bed. If anything, he would be doing reports right about now or something. It was just too boring in this place! He grumbled, looking down at the leather belt that was strapped tight against his body and connected to the bed underneath, making it _veeeeery_ difficult to move around and squeeze out of. He glared at it, wishing that he had his cutlass right about now.

"Glaring at it won't make it come off faster Wash Buckler."

Wash turned his head to the side, glaring at the tech. "Restraining me isn't going to make me hate it here any less."

Spy Rise hummed, flipping another page of the magazine.

"Why are you here anyway dude? Shouldn't you be out on a mission with Blast and Magna?"

"They can do fine without me for a while." Spy glanced up for the magazine, leaning back farther in the chair. "Besides, knowing you? You'd probably try and sneak away again while most of us go out on missions." His eyes narrowed, dropping his voice lowly. "Like you did the last thirteen times."

"Hey, you have your options, I have mine, and we can't change that." Wash Buckler huffed, crossing his arms and looked away from the spyder.

Spy Rise sighed, closing the magazine and stood up from the chair, tossing the booklet onto a small table next to him and walked over to the bed, arms crossed. "Wash, I know how you feel about this." He heard a huff. "But really, this is for the best for your health. You nearly scared the living soul out of everyone by that little stunt you pulled." Wash Buckler glared at him from the corner of his eye. "Granted, you rescued Snap Shot which he was grateful for, but look how you winded up! You had to get stitches for Eon's sake!" He sighed, rubbing the side of his face. "…but…it's better than having you dead."

"…what?"

Spy Rise sighed, shaking his head lightly. "Granted, you do some…unimaginable things time and time again. But, they are some…good unimaginable things." His eyes locked on to Wash Buckler. "Though sometimes I wish you won't go as far as getting yourself into deep trouble. It's worrisome! And not just for me, Wash Buckler. You worry even your friends, the team, everyone who cares!" He sighed, taking his hand off his face. "Just…promise you wouldn't keep doing it often, okay? I don't want you dying because no of us could help you."

Wash Buckler blinked, wide eyed as he stared at Spy Rise. A smile slowly broke out across his face, holding out a hand. "That I believe I can promise you dude."

Spy Rise smiled a little, grasping his leader's hand and shook it firmly.

"Now, uh, about this restraint?"

"No."

"Oh COME! ON! SPY! You can't keep me here on the bed forever!"

"Don't tempt me! I will keep you on there for eternity if I have to!"

"What? So I can be lazy while everyone else goes on a mission?"

"Ye-WAIT NO! I'm just keeping you there till you heal up!"

"HA! You admit you want me lazy!"

" **I NEVER SAID THAT!** "

"Actually, you sort of did Spy."

Spy Rise blinked, turning around as Blast Zone and Night Shift hovered in. "Uh." He backed away from the bed, finding the ground more interesting to look at suddenly.

"Hey! Blaster Master!" Wash Buckler smiled, sitting up on the bed as Blast Zone hovered over, giving his surrogate brother a quick fist bump. "How you doing dude? Did the mission go well?"

"It went quicker than I thought it would." Blast Zone chuckled, crossing his arms. "Glad it did though. Bringing Magna Charge along for the job helped it go faster. His speed came in handy."

Night Shift huffed, grumbling under his breath.

"What was that dude?"

Night Shift growled, turning to look away from everyone as they stared at him confused.

"Don't mind him." Blast Zone sighed. "He's just grumpy cause someone took his turn over watching Freeze Blade today."

"Dude! That rattled you up?!" Wash Buckler couldn't help but grin at this. Night Shift sour over not spending time with Freeze Blade? Now THAT was new!

Spy Rise rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to say something before the door opened and Grilla Drilla lumbered in holding a tired looking baby Freeze Blade in his arms. "Yo, Wash, heard you were wake." The gorilla yawned, rubbing the lingering of sleep from his eyes.

There was silence in the room as every stared at the huge swapper before Wash Buckler and Blast Zone burst out in laughter as Spy Rise tried to hide his grin as well as stifle he chuckles.

"What? What's so funny?" Grilla Drilla looked at each grinning swapper before looking at Night Shift. "What are they laughing at?"

"Oh? Nothing. Just probably weren't expecting you." He smirked, taking one of the flowers out from Drilla's fur. "To go green."

* * *

A few days went past, and everything seemed to be going smoothly for once.

Or could be.

"I swear to Eon above! If that he gets hurt, I'm not going to feel sorry for him!"

"Calm down Spy Rise. You said so yourself that he would try and sneak away the first chance you gave him."

"Yes! But I didn't expect him to get away **THAT** quickly!" Spy Rise bit the end of his thumb, looking around the place that could be a possible hiding place. "Two minutes! How could _anyone_ get away in two minutes?!"

Blast Zone shook his head, looking underneath the furniture. "Well, he is speedy when he wants to be."

"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting him to be _this_ speedy!" Spy Rise huffed. "They are going to have my neck for this!"

"For what dude?"

Spy Rise yelped, jumping a bit as he turned around. Wash Buckler stood at the doorway wearing his usual cloths with his vest hanging off his shoulders again, leaning against Stink Bomb for support.

"Wash Buckler! Eon! Don't scare me like that! And what are you doing out of bed?! You're not fully healed yet!"

"Hey! You said I could walk around a bit with some support. Ain't that right Stink Bomb?" He elbowed the skunk lightly in the ribs, earning a nod from him. "Anyway, what's got you so flipped out dude?"

Spy Rise looked away, mumbling under his breath.

"What? I can't hear you Spy."

"…"

"He lost Freeze Blade."

"WHAT?!"

"Blast Zone!"

"What?" He looked over at them, placing the plant back down. "It's not really anything new. You've lost him over, what? Five, seven, nine times already?"

"Yeah, but at least he was easily found because I lost him in _A LOCK ROM EACH TIME!_ " His teeth gritted against each other, burning fury in his eyes.

"Dude! You _lost_ him?! Man, Night Shift will not be happy to hear about this once he's back from the mission."

"Hey! Not my fault! If it's anyone's fault it's Blast Zone's! He was the one who distracted me from watching him!"

"Not taking the blame for this."

"Guys! Guys! Enough!" Stink Bomb injected, looking at everyone. "There's no point in blaming or freaking out about this. I mean, how hard is it to find a toddler? Sure he's fast but he couldn't have gotten **that** far away right?"

Spy Rise sighed, pinching the area where his nose would be. "You're right. You're right. He…probably crawled off someplace nearby." He clapped his hands together. "So! No time to be standing around and what not."

"Uh, guys?"

"Lets just take a moment, calm down and figure this one out, no?"

"Guys?"

"Stink Bomb's right about this. We can't panic about this."

"Guuuys?"

"I mean this is Freeze Blade we're talking about!"

"Dudes?"

"Our fun loving, humorous, adventure danger seeking, trouble making, nerve wracking, prone magnet for disaster—"

"DUDES!"

"WHAT?! WHAT IS IT WASH BUCKLER?!"

"Can five month old toddler's crawl into open air vents?"

"…what?"

Wash Buckler pointed at something with one of his tentacles. Where he was pointing at was the real eye catcher, and when Spy Rise looked at where Wash Buckler was pointing at, he screamed at the top of his lungs, going into panic mode at the sight of an open air vent that was close to the ground which a certain curious wildkit toddler could crawl into.

Night Shift.

Was going.

To **_KILL HIM!_**

* * *

Freeze Blade cooed, crawling along through the darkness of this new place he found. It was pretty dark, very dark. But he didn't mind the darkness. Nope! Not one bit. What he did mind though was how hard this new place seemed to be. It wasn't soft like the places that his things would put him down on, and it made some weird sounds whenever he put on of his hands down on it.

He blew a raspberry, giggling to himself. So what if it wasn't soft? It was something to explore! And if it was something explore, there must be something he hadn't seen before than! And if he hadn't seen it before, then it must be—

Falling.

He was falling. Falling fast. Falling into the darkness.

He didn't have time to scream out in fear before he landed back down on something solid.

Hard.

A scream of pain left his mouth as a white hot burning unbearable sensation shot up through his left arm, hurting more when he moved a little. Tears rolled down his face as he screamed out, wailing louder and louder each time he cried out. It hurt! Why did it hurt?! It hurt so badly! Something! Anything! Make it stop!

"Ello? Estás ahí? Dónde estás?"

He didn't hear anything other than his own cries. He wanted something to stop this bad feeling in his arm! He wanted it to go away!

He needed a hug.

"Sólo un momento! Oye! Chicos! Aqui! Prisa, prisa!"

His tears went down his face faster, trying to wipe them away only to cry out in pain when he tried to move his arm.

"Muévete por allá! Creo que viene de aquí."

"Sí Sí! Me han dicho que ahora!"

"Asique puedo!"

His nose was clogged with snot, dipping down his face in a gooey, sticky mess.

"A las tres! Uno!"

"Dos!"

"Tres!"

 **BANG!**

He stopped crying, flinching as he looked around, finally noticing how it wasn't so dark anymore.

"De Nuevo! Uno!"

"Dos!"

"Tres!"

 **BANG!**

He head snapped over to his shoulder, blinking back the tears. The light was coming from the direction, pouring in through something that he had no clue what it was, but he could make out a few shapes that were moving behind it.

"Una vez más! Uno!"

"Dos!"

"Tres!"

 **BANG!**

He squeaked in surprise, trying to crawl away as something poked through the thing and almost touched him.

"Halar! Halar!"

The thing pulled away from him, creaking and groaning before it and the other thing were suddenly gone with a loud SNAP! and cheers of strange sounding things reached his ears.

"Lo hicimos!"

"¡Hurra por nosotros!"

"Ahora vamos a ver lo que estaba haciendo ese ruido."

Freeze Blade whimpered softly, backing away more till his back touched the wall, ears going flat as it got slightly dark again.

"Hey, es un bebé!"

"Un bebé?"

"Estas seguro?"

"Estoy seguro! Estoy seguro! Venga a ver!"

"Hey! What are you chicos up to now? You're wreaking half of the place up!"

"Fiesta! Fiesta! Mira!"

"Encontramos un bebé!"

"What? Are you all loco?"

"No no!"

"Hablamos la verdad."

"Descúbrelo por ti mismo y creer tus ojos."

There was silence for a moment before he heard something that he remembered the hard thing make all the time.

"Alright. But you better not be jugar with me, or I promise you will be begging for—"

Freeze Blade tried to move a little closer to the sound, finding it familiar sounding like the funny sounding yellow thing. But he recoiled in pain, crying out as the burning not nice feeling doubled in his arm again.

"Pero qué?!"

Before he knew it, Freeze Blade was being lifted out of the new place and into another. But he didn't care. All he cared about was the pain he was feeling in his arm that he wanted to go away.

"Oh. Oh you pequeño individuo pobre."

He sniffed, rubbing his face with his good arm and cried out a little when he felt the pain in his arm being poked.

"Your arm is broken. Eso no es bueno."

"Ver! Ver!"

"Estábamos diciendo la verdad!"

"¿Qué hacemos ahora Fiesta?"

"Now? Now I shall take him to a doctor while you three clean this mess up."

Collective strange sounds reached his ears again.

"Quit your whining! You chicos made this mess now you clean it up! Hazlo!"

With that, the strange sounds died down, and Freeze Blade soon found himself being carried off somewhere. Sniffling, he looked up at this new thing that was carrying him, whimpering.

"Ssh, ssh. It's okay pequeño. No need for more tears." The thing said quietly, wiping away a few stray tears. "It's okay now. Fiesta is here to take care of you now."

Freeze Blade did nothing but stare at this new thing, sniffing a few times.

"Hey, didn't I say no more tears?" The thing asked playfully, poking his cheek a little.

A small smile etched its way on to his face, giggling slightly, trying to bat away the things blue hand but quickly cried out in pain again after using his pained arm.

The thing, Fiesta, frowned. "Oh gatito, I wish I could ease the pain but I can not." He sighed, rubbing his thumb against the toddler's cheek.

"Fiesta?"

Fiesta stopped in his tracks, turning around and smiled warmly. "Spitfire! ¿Cómo estás viejo amigo? Is life good to you?"

Spitfire smiled, going over to his friend. The smile turned into a frown however when he caught sight of the wildkitten in Fiesta's arms. "Uh, Fiesta? What's with the cat?"

"Hmm? Oh! Three of my amigos found this gatito in the vents." He held his arms out a little for his leader to see better. "His arm is broke, so I was on my way to the doctor to see if he could fix it."

Spitfire hum, scratching his chin as the toddler stared at him. "He looks a little familiar."

"Really?" Fiesta twisted the tot around, looking at him up and down. "Say, he does! He looks a bit like Señor Freeze Blade! Mask included too!" He frowned a little. "Though that can't true. Señor Freeze Blade is an adult, and this little gatito is a baby!" He brought the toddler back into his arms, shaking his head. "Ah well. No tiene sentido pensar en ello ahora."

"Fiesta, this is serious. What if someone is looking for him right now?"

"We'll look for his parents later. Right now, the doctor a—!" He paused, eye sockets widening, body stiffening.

Spitfire looked at him confusingly till he figured out what was wrong. "Oh boy…" He sighed, grinning a little as music started to pick up. "Seems like Splat is playing her music too loud again."

"Mhmmhmhm!"

"What's the matter? You know you can't ignore it."

"HRMMMURMPH!"

"Is it because you're holding the kid?"

"MMMPH!"

"Well just give him to me." He held out his arms.

"MMOO!"

"What?"

"MMMO!"

"Fiesta, come on. You know you can't ignore it, so why fight it?"

"MMO! MI MILL MAY MM MOUNM! M MILL MOP MANCE!"

"If you say so." Spitfire grinned.

A few agonizing minutes ticked by, Spitfire ginning the whole time, watching Fiesta try and not move to the beat. Once the song was over, Fiesta hunched over, gasping. "Oh, thank the elements!"

Spitfire chuckled, shaking his head. "I'll admit, you did good Fiesta. You didn't move a—" He blinked as the skeleton held out the kit. Raising a brow, he took the toddler into his arms, jumping slightly when the room suddenly got dark. "Uh, Fiesta?"

A spotlight suddenly came on, shining down on the said skeleton with his back turned to him.

"…oh boy." He chuckled, looking down at the confused kit. "We're in for a treat kid."

Freeze Blade tilted his head, looking over at the other thing that was holding him a while ago.

Suddenly, music filled the air. Fiesta did a pose with his back still turned on the two.

" _Vengo, vengo, vengo de caña, vengo, vengo, vengo de son, tengo, tengo, tengo en el alma ritmo, ritmo, ritmo y sabor~!_ "

Spitfire rolled his eyes, smiling as Freeze Blade blinked his eyes curiously. Fiesta, dancing to the beat, took off his hat, spinning and twirling it around before holding it sideways and tapped the top three times. With each tap, a smaller skeleton jumped out for the hat, holding a different musical instrument in their hands, bringing up and matching the beat. Placing his hat back on, Fiesta turned around, moving his shoulders, swaying his hip, and struck a pose whenever that song hit a high note.

" _Vengo de raza y de palmera, de campo y de labriego, de caña y de madera, mi orgullo es ser latina, de mar y cordillera, ardiente como el fuego, soy sangre de mi tierra~!_ " Fiesta sang with his band singing in the background.

" _Soy la hembra sandunguera, caliente como un fogón, dulce cuando me enamoro y entrego mi corazón, soy la hermana de la rumba, de la gaita y del tambor,del fuego y la sabrosura, que llevo en esta canción, y te digo...~_ "

Spitfire bobbed his head to the beat, swaying his body side to side slowly.

" _Vengo, vengo, vengo de caña, vengo, vengo, vengo de son, tengo, tengo, tengo en el alma, ritmo, ritmo, ritmo y sabor~!_ "

Freeze Blade watched curiously as the thing did strange moments with its body as the smaller thing made strange sounds. For some reason, he found it very…catchy. A smile came on his face, watching the moving thing do a side flip and land on its feet perfectly.

" _Canto al aire y a la noche, a la brisa y al amor, a la sangre de mi tierra, le llevo mi inspiración. Tengo miel, tengo pradera, tengo raza y luz del sol, corazón de aventura, de fuego, tabaco y ron, y te digo...~_ "

By now, other Skylanders had started to come, forming into a crowed, cheering and whistling in delight as Fiesta danced on.

" _Sandunguera... soy sandunguera. Sandunguera... soy parrandera. Sandunguera... pura candela. Sandunguera... si me tocas te quemas. Sandunguera... vengo de caña. Sandunguera... y de palmera. Sandunguera... soy sandunguera. Sandunguera... y estoy rebuena~!_ "

Most Skylanders were clapping their hands to the beat, bobbing their heads, tapping their feet, few were even trying to match the skeleton's dance.

" _Vengo, vengo, vengo de caña, vengo, vengo, vengo de son, tengo, tengo, tengo en el alma, ritmo, ritmo, ritmo y sabor. Vengo de raza y de palmera, de campo y de labriego, de caña y de madera, mi orgullo es ser latina, de mar y cordillera, ardiente como el fuego, soy sangre de mi tierra~!_ "

Fiesta flipped, twirled, back flipped, front flipped, side jumped, clapped, side jumped, twist, right foot out, clap, clap, jump in midair and twist, move to the left, stomp, stomp, stomp, move to the right, clap, clap, clap, twirled back, three step back, four steps front, swing of the hips, and tapped those feet.

" _No me gustan las palabras, que faltan a la verdad, llevo cantos en el alma, de amor a la libertad. Y si entrego mis pasiones, no hay barreras para amar, cuando son dos corazones, que se quieren de verdad, y te digo...~_ "

One! Two! One! Two! Twirl around, do a little bow! Twirl around, flip to the left! Clap three times! Shake! Shake! Twirl around, flip to the right! Clap three times! Shake! Shake! Do a front flip! Shake! Shake! One! Two! Do a back flip! Do a small bow! Pose! Three! Four! Pose! Swing to the left! Swing to the right! Twirl around! One! Two! Samba!

" _Vengo, vengo, vengo de caña, vengo, vengo, vengo de son, tengo, tengo, tengo en el alma, ritmo, ritmo, ritmo y sabor! Vengo de raza y de palmera, de campo y de labriego, de caña y de madera, mi orgullo es ser latina, de mar y cordillera, ardiente como el fuego, soy sangre de mi tierra~!_ "

Fiesta ran to the back, twisting around and ran forward, jumping and landing on his knees, sliding to a stop, taking his hat off and smiled as the song came to an end. Applauds erupted from the audience as the lights came back on. Fiesta smiled, getting back up on his feet and bowed. The band came over and joined him, bowing happily at the attention they were getting.

Spitfire clapped his hands together. "Nicely done!"

Freeze Blade squealed happily, waving his good arm. He liked this new thing! It did funny movements and the sounds it was making were nice and—! He cried out in pain again.

Spitfire's eyes widened, looked back down at the crying wildkit. He had forgotten all about him! And his arm! He quickly made his way through the crowd, holding the kit tightly. "Don't worry kid. Spitfire will get you to the doc in no time."

Freeze Blade babbled, holding his hurting arm tight which made the pain worse.

"Ah, don't worry kid. It'll be—OPH!" Spitfire landed on his backside, clutching the kit protectively.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to-oh. It's just you Spitfire."

Spitfire held back a growl as he sat up, glaring a little. "Hello to you too Wash Buckler."

Wash Buckler huffed, slowly getting up as he picked up his vest and place it back on his shoulders. "Where are you speeding off to this time? Another race? Or something important this time?"

Spitfire held his tongue as he got off the floor, glaring more at the SWAP Force leader. He disliked the squid, as Wash Buckler disliked him.

Now, frankly, Wash Buckler was a very, very nice guy, and so was Spitfire. They were both kind, generous, thoughtful, and considerate, but they both disliked each other immensely. Why? Well, to put it plainly, a certain incident involved with a certain leader getting angry enough to go into the alter ego and went on a rampage, happening to hurt a team member of a certain other group with their leader getting furious and lost control of their alter ego and attacked that leader resulting a lot of broken furniture, walls, floors, ceilings, paintings, columns, roofs, and anything else that was breakable.

So, yeah. It ended with the two never speaking on good terms to each other ever again. Usually, they avoided each other at great coasts, even on missions.

A little whine from Spitfire's arms caught their attention.

"FREEZE BLADE! There you are!" Wash Buckler sighed in relief, reaching for his babyfied teammate, only for Spitfire to move away from his reach. "…uh, Spitfire? You have something that belongs to me."

"Belongs to you? Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know you were his father." Spitfire growled, adjusting his hold on Freeze Blade.

"I'm not his father, but I am—"

"Then he's not yours then!"

"Spitfire, I'm warning you. Give me back my friend or else."

"Or else what? You'll fight me? In your condition?" He pointed at the white gauze that stuck out a little from Wash Buckler's undershirt neck line. "I've heard what happened squid. You wouldn't dare fight me in your weak state."

Wash Buckler glared at Spitfire, clenching his fists. "Octopus." He mumbled lowly.

Spitfire scoffed. "More like dumbp—"

"SEÑOR SPITFIRE!"

"WASH BUCKLER!"

Fiesta and Spy Rise ran over to their respected leaders, stopping at their side.

"Wash Buckler, remember your promise to the team." Spy Rise looped his arms around one of Wash Buckler's. "You promised not to pick a fight with Spitfire if you ran into him! Afternoon by the way Spitfire."

The fire demon nodded at the tech, glaring hard at the SWAP leader.

"Señor Spitfire, mi amigo, Por favor, no fighting. Not here or now! Not when señor Wash Buckler is hurt. Buena noches señor Wash Buckler."

"Fiesta." Wash Buckler gave a small nod to the skeleton, hardening his glare at the SuperCharger leader.

"Wash Buckler, let's just leave Spitfire be an—"

"He has the kid."

Spy Rise stopped short, blinking a bit. "W-what?"

"He has Freeze Blade with him."

"I'm not giving you the kid Wash Buckler."

"He's _my_ teammate."

"He was found by _my_ teammate first."

"U-uh, Spitfire, i-if you would be so kind to—"

"Give. Me. The. Kid."

"Not. In. Your. Life."

"¿Amigos? Can we not fight and get el pequeño to a doctor so—"

"Doctor? What did you do demon?!"

"Guys, you're making a crowd. There's a crowd forming. Let's not make a sce—"

"What?! You're blaming me for this?!"

"Okay amigos, how about we—"

"Yes! Why does the kid need a doctor?!"

"Wash, remember your promise—!"

"His arm is broke!"

"WHAT?!"

"Okay, how about we discuss this later at the med b—?!"

"YOU DIRTY HOTHEAD DEMON!"

"Uh, s-sí! Let's go with señor Spy Rise's p—"

" _Dirty_? **_Demon_**?"

"Wash, don't call Spit—"

"NOW LOOK HERE YOU OVER SIZED SUSHI!" Spitfire handed the toddler over to Fiesta, pointing a finger right directly in Wash Buckler's face. "I'M NO DIRTY DEMON AND YOU KNOW IT! I'M NOT THE ONE WHO BROKE THE KID'S ARM AND FIESTA IS MY WITENESS! So unless you want to have a go right here and now, I suggest you point those slimy tentacles at someone else before you get hurt and BACK. **OFF!** " He shoved Wash Buckler in the chest, sending him falling backwards.

Spy Rise was immediately at his leader's side, steadying him while keeping a grip on the squid. " _Wash Buckler, buddy, lets not lose our temper here._ " He whispered lowly, trying very hard to stay calm. His grip tightened, spying a bit of black appearing on the SWAP leader's skin. " _Remember your promise to the team, your friends. Please, don't have another fight with Spitfire! You can't control your anger when you lose yourself! You're hurt! You lose your mind when you go dark! You're almost as bad as Night Shift when he get angry!_ "

Wash Buckler turned his head and glared at Spy Rise. His once violet eyes darkened, filling evil and hate.

Spy Rise felt his grip slack slightly, a lump formed in his throat. "P-please." His voice was weak and trembling. "Please."

The darkness faded as Wash Buckler's features softened, reverting back to the same calm bright violet look and friendliness he always had. He closed his eyes, taking in a slow deep breath and let it out. "…m sorry."

Spy Rise silently thanked the ancients, loosening his grip. "It's fine." He turned to look at Spitfire. "I apologize for Wash Buckler's rude behavior Spitfire. He…he doesn't know when to shut up at times." He flinched, shooting an apologetic look at his friend.

Spitfire smiled, crossing his arms. "I accept your apology Spy Rise. You must have a handful with _him_ as your leader."

"Yes, well, I—"

"I don't believe you."

Coldness swept through Spy Rise, turning his gaze on Wash Buckler.

"You've got to be lying. There's no way the kid's arm is broke."

If metal and bone could pale, they would have done so by now.

"What?" Spitfire glared at Wash Buckler.

"Yeah you heard me. You've got to be lying about it! Freeze Blade's arm is fine!"

"You don't actually think his arm is fine?!"

"I don't believe it. Period!"

Fire flared, Spitfire almost wanted to lung at the squid and strangle him. "Don't believe me? Fine! Believe!" He turned around, grasping Freeze Blade's arm before Fiesta could stop him. " **THIS!** " He tightened his grip, crushing the arm more than it had been.

Freeze Blade screamed out, reaching the ears of everyone in the area and further away.

Spy Rise gripped Wash Buckler tightly, unbelieving his eyes as he watched Spitfire break Freeze Blade's arm more.

Fiesta wasted no time. He grabbed Spitfire's arm, pulling his grip off the toddler and backed away, pulling baby Freeze close to him as the toddler wailed in pain and agony. "SPITFIRE! ¡¿QUE DEMONIOS?!"

Spitfire snorted, turning to glare at Wash Buckler.

Wash Buckler's face was unreadable. His eyes were wide, his face was unmoving, his body stiff as stone.

Spitfire pointed at Wash Buckler opening his mouth to say something…

…when a cold, unearthly chill ran through his body.

He shuddered. A cold gust of air blew against his side, and he turned, his fire and fury going out and eyes widening as a shadow fell over him.

There were a few Skylanders that had hot tempers that were not to be messed with. Fewer more with rages that could not be matched or leveled with anyone or anything. And even fewer still who would dare try and provoke those storms and even fewer who lived to tell the tale. And once, and only once, has anyone ever dare cross that line of blinding fury and uncontrollable anger, and come out never the same ever again to their ending days.

And the one who had this unholy fury that should never be crossed or tempered with?

Two words.

One name.

Night.

Shift.

Spitfire's body went cold as Night Shift glared at him. No, glared wasn't the right word. The look of blinding white hot fury was more like it. But his eyes weren't the only thing that swore pain and suffering. No, his face was covered in vain marks that popped out against his skin, hair ragged, and teeth that looked like they grew gleamed in the dark, heavy dark breaths of air blew out from his nostrils in hot steam. His mist flooded out, twisting and growing and darkening, shaping into what some could see as faces of fear. Few could claim that they could hear quiet screams and agonizing moans coming from the mist.

But what was really scary about the vampire was the dark unholy aura he was giving off.

The promise of death.

"… _mother._ "

Before anyone could blink, Night Shift had Spitfire's throat in one of his gloves, tight enough that no air could pass or enter. Spitfire choked, grabbing the glove and tried, and failed to even move it a slim.

" ** _BaD. mOvE!_** " Night Shift growled, his voiced matched that of a demon.

Another scream echoed in the air, this time though, it was filled with fear.

"SOMEONE! QUICK! GET BAT SPIN!"


	15. When I First Fought You

_SnowPrincess20: I'm glad to see that your favorite Skylander appeared, also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!_

 _LiteFox: Well at least I got his attitude right. And just so you know Wash vs Spitfire is not one time thing, and don't worry, Freeze Blade won't be caught up in their fights all the time._

 _icepelt2000: It's alright, we can't leave a review for every chapter. I'm just glad that you read it!_

 _VictorianWriting: I'M SO SORRY! REALLY! I AM! D:_

 _Guest: Your wish is slightly granted in this chapter._

 _Crim: Yeah, I thought that would be funny. And no, you can not marry this fanfic, sorry!_

 _I! AM! ALLLLLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I'M SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO GET THIS CHAPTER DONE! MY LIFE HAS BEEN SO BUSY LATELY I JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE TIME! Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

 _"_ _Uh, Wash?"_

 _Wash Buckler peered over the newspaper he was reading. "What is it Freeze?"_

 _Freeze Blade fidgeted a bit, wringing his hands together and shifting his ice skate clad feet. Something he didn't do unless it was bad. Really bad. "Um, are there any thick metal walls or twenty foot thick wall of stone nearby? Oooor anywhere in the nearby in academe?"_

 _A brow raised on his face, looking at Spy Rise as the tech genius gave him a confused glance, slowly putting down his tools as he folded up the newspaper. "Why?"_

 _There was a sharp slow hiss of air being breathed in as Freeze Blade averted his mask worn eyes that the SWAP Force had learned years of experience to know where he was looking with those covered eyes of his. "Weeeeeeelllllllll, you see… um, i-i-it's no big deal… okay it's a big deal. A really BIG deal."_

 _"_ _What's a big deal?" Spy Rise went over to him crossing his arms._

 _Freeze Blade opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as the doors to the library suddenly were sent flying off their hinges, breaking into small splinters and wood dust. Heads turned to the doorway as the dust settled._

 _"…_ _Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnight Shift might be in one of his… moods."_

 _Both swappers shared a worry and scared look with each other as Night Shift hovered in. Fury was written all over his face, scowling more than usual, growling and muttering under his breath._

 _Wash Buckler was pulled back by a tug from his arm, going into a huddle with Spy Rise and Freeze Blade. "WHY is Night Shift in one of his moods?!" Spy Rise asked in a hushed scream._

 _"_ _I don't know!" Freeze Blade whined, ears going flat against his head. "He was just like that when I skated by!"_

 _"_ _Alright calm down, we can't panic yet." Wash Buckler reasoned. "We can't be sure if this is code danger hanger, grumpzilla, or…_ that zone _."_

 _All three swappers shuddered. "By Eon above, let's hope he isn't in_ that _—"_

 _"_ _You know, it's very, very rude to talk about someone behind their backs." Their bodies went stiff in fear, coldness seeped into their souls as a shadow fell over them. "That can really_ _ **HURT**_ _their feelings if you're not careful."_

 _They slowly looked up, feeling dread crawl up their spines as Night Shift glared down at them, smirking in a manner that put fear in its place and death on the run, adjusting his boxing gloves with an evil glint in his eyes._

 _"…_ _Night Shift! Dude! Hey! Hi! How you doing?" Wash Buckler tried to manage a weak smile, trembling a bit as Spy Rise hid behind him and Freeze Blade started to back away. "We were just… talking about you! Yeah! Uh, h-how are you feeling today buddy?"_

 _"…_ _how… am I… feeling?" His words were slow, covered in thick ice and coldness that even ice using Skylanders would shiver by. His smirk twisted more in a demonic way, eyes locked on the three. "… I'm… fine. But do you know what's interesting about today?"_

 _They shook their heads slowly, backing away._

 _"_ _Well, I'll tell you." He hovered closer. "The day seemed fine, I wake up, grab a bite, training myself so I'm not_ _ **RUSTY**_ _, and do you know what happens while I'm punching away, minding my own business? This Skylander comes in holding today's newspaper, asking me the most_ _ **SILLY**_ _and_ _ **FUNNIEST**_ _question I have ever heard_ _ **in my LIFE!**_ _" He dropped his voice very low, backing the three up against the wall. "And do you know what they ask me?"_

 _They don't make a sound, shaking against each other as fear permeated their faces._

 _"_ _They asked me, if I was_ _ **CRAZY**_ _and_ _ **SENILE**_ _as my_ _ **TEAMMATES, because of that INCIDENT TWO DAYS BACK THAT WAS UNSPEAKABLY STUPID**_ **AND IDIOTIC THAT I WANTED NO PART IN IT WHAT SO EVER YET I SOMEHOW WOUNDED UP IN THE FRONT COVER OF THE NEWSPAPER LABLED CRAZY BOXER STRIKES AGAIN!** _…_ _And do you know how I feel about this?"_

 _Slowly they shook their heads, shaking like mad now._

 _"_ _Well, I'll tell you. I… am…" He grabbed the nearest book stand and tore it out from the ground with ease. "_ **COMPLETELY FURIOUS!** _"_ _He threw it at his team members. They screamed, jumping out of the way of the oncoming stand. It splintered and shattered against the stone wall, books and fragment pieces went flying in all directions._

 _"_ **THAT ZONE! THAT ZONE! NIGHT SHIFT IS DEFFENTALY IN THAT ZONE!** _"_ _Spy Rise shouted as he and the other two ran out of the room, kicking it into high gear as Night Shift was hot on their trail._

 _"_ **GET! BACK HERE!** _"_ _He snarled, chasing after them at a speed which would put others to shame._

 _"_ _HELP! HELP!" Wash Buckler screamed as they rounded a corner, entering the main entrance room._

 _Skylanders stopped what they were doing, watching as the three came running and tumbling in the room, followed closely by the enraged boxer. Most Skylanders who knew a bit about Night Shift's rages either went running out the room screaming or stayed to fight him. And boy, was it a fight._

 _Skylanders were tossed here and there, punched and flipped, bit and knocked out cold. Few had taken the hint that he would not be stopped anytime soon, others still fought him but were quickly defeated by his punch. The three that he was chasing earlier were hiding behind a fallen couch trembling in fear. "Of all the days the rest of the guys had to be out on a mission!" Spy Rise muttered to himself. "We would then have a slim chance!"_

 _"_ _Dudes, I don't know about you, but I for one am glad that we were a team."_

 _"_ _Why are you saying it like we're gonna die?!" Freeze Blade wailed, pulling on his ears. "We're not gonna die! Right?! We! We're gonna! We HAVE to live! I can't diiiiiiieeeeeeee!"_

 _"_ _Who's dying?" A soft voice asked._

 _They looked up, seeing Bat Spin hovering there with confusion written on her face._

 _"_ _No one's dying Bat Spin." Spy Rise informed, before ducking more behind the couch. "… not yet anyway."_

 _She glanced over at Night Shift, tilting her head. "Why is he fighting with everyone? Did something happen?"_

 _"_ _Leeeeeet's just say that the newspaper has their info mixed up and leave it at that." Wash Buckler informed, peeking out from behind their only protection._

 _"…_ _Is there no way to stop him?" Bat Spin asked, looking back at the cowering swappers._

 _"_ _Well unless we have thick metal chains, a few thousand tranquilizer guns, thick armor guards and a few dozen doctors and a willing person to fight him, theeeeeennnnnn no." Spy Rise concluded. "When he's in_ that zone _, everything around him is gone. His friends, his personality, everything. The only thing working in his mind is to punch everything that moves till it stops breathing."_

 _Bat Spin slowly nodded her head._

 _"_ _If the guys were here, we might have had a chance." Freeze Blade whined, covering his head. "He's scary when he's like this."_

 _"_ _Ain't that right." Wash Buckler huffed, cringing when Night Shift power slammed into Terrafin before grabbing the land shark by his fin and tossed him at the wall. "Nothing can really get him to stop."_

 _"…"_ _Bat Spin glanced at Night Shift, then at the fallen Skylanders that had battled him, then back at the boxer. "… Let me handle this."_

 _Their eyes snapped at her, widening like they had heard the craziest thing ever. "Uh… what now?"_

 _She didn't respond as she hovered over to the battle ground, ignoring their protests and kept her eyes locked on the male vampire with his back turned on her, holding Food Fight in one glove ready to bite the living plant. "NO REST FOR THE WICKED!" She cried out, swinging her staff at him._

 _Hearing her shout that, Night Shift glanced behind him, teleporting out of the way at the last second just as the end of the staff swung just where he was moments ago, hitting Food Fight across the face instead. He growled, pulling back his right arm and swung at her._

 _She lifted her staff up, shielding herself from the attack but was sent back a little. With a snort, she sent out three bats, aiming for the older vampire. But staying still was not on Night Shifts to do list, and kept teleporting out from the line of fire. A growl of annoyance played in her mouth, sending more of her bats out._

 _He kept teleporting, dodging the attacks with ease and precision. Once or twice he threw his own attack at her, landing a hit only once against her side._

 _Grunting, she rubbed her wounded side, glaring at the vampire as he teleported off and did not reappear anywhere in sight. She tensed, glancing around her. He was nowhere in her line of vision. With one last glance around, she paused, closing her eyes and waited. The very few who had stayed behind to watch the two vampire fight looked at her in confusion, shouting at her to move or to run, but she ignored them… and listened. She listened to the creaks and moans of the floor, to the soft sounds of scraping claws against stone, the beat of hearts, the movement of air outside, she could hear it all, even the quiet huffs of air, the sound of a boxing glove clenching and unclenching with a notorious deep rumble of a growl._

 _She may not see him, but she could defiantly hear him. The corner of her mouth twitched, tightening her fingers around her staff. He was waiting for her, waiting for her to make a move, to let have a chance at finding him and strike. That was almost gentlemanly if it weren't for the fact that he was trying to hurt her. She opened her eyes slightly, glancing to the side before twisting around so her back was facing him._

 _He took the hint, and lunged, coming out from his hiding spot and swung… only for her to dodge the attack full on, facing him again and swung her staff, the end of it making contact with the side of his head. He stumbled back, shaking his head and ignoring the pain, lunging at her again with his fists ready. She dodged again and again, blocking a few of his attacks, getting nicked once or twice while landing a few of her attacks on him._

 _Their fight went on, throwing punches, bat attacks, and dodges at each other. It was becoming a bit of a frenzy with many crossfires that the Skylanders that were watching them took cover or left for their own safety._

 _Bat Spin huffed, her body felt heavy and weak, leaning against her staff for support. A gash was cut along the top of her right eye, thin trails of blood seeped out. She certain that a rib of broken in her chest. Her eyes landed on her opponent, wiping the tail of blood away from her mouth, blood that certainly wasn't her own._

 _His body was tiring, growling as he swiped at one of the bats biting his ear. She was good at fighting he would give her that, but not good enough to land a heavy blow on him. She surprised him quite well when she transformed into that giant bat, another credit he would give her since he was rarely surprised at anything anymore, and was able to bite him on the shoulder and hang on firmly and long enough draw out some blood before he shook her off him. She was strong, good. He hated fighting weak opponents._

 _Lifting one boxing glove up to his face, he rubbed the thumb of his glove over one of his fangs, still feeling the slight burn of pain in it, caused by the end of her hooped staff that the looped around it and was able to throw him into the wall. Crafty, if not useful. He would have to take sparing lessons with her sometime. But for now… he was going to make her_ _ **hurt**_ _._

 _She flinched as he teleported again, disappearing from her sight once more. "This again?" She hissed, closing her eyes to listen and find him… only to snap them open again to feeling of pain erupting on her shoulder. A high pitch bat-like shriek filled the room, swinging her staff at full force that was powerful enough to knock the older vampire off her. She stumbled back, holding her shoulder in pain as something wet seeped into her hand._

 _Blood._

 _He drew blood from her._

 _Her eyes went over to the hunched over form, hearing him curse in his native tongue while he covered one part of his face. She must have hit him in the eye. Ouch. One of her bats swooped in, scratching the vampire along the ear, earning a roar of anger and a swing of his glove, missing the bat by a few cementers._

 _"_ _Gryaznyye parazity!" He growled, not noticing his opponent twitch._

 _"…_ _what?"_

 _He turned to look at her, his left eye dark and slightly swelling. "Gryaznyye parazity." He hissed slowly, licking the last bits of blood off his fangs._

 _But in the next second, he found himself on the ground, pinned down by his neck and staring straight up into the red blazing eyes that glared down at him with unreadable fury._

 _"_ _NIKOGDA NE ZVONITE MOYA SEM'YA GRYAZNYKH SKOTINA!" She screeched. Her once sweet soft bright yellow eyes were now crimson red; irises that were once oval shaped were now thin slits. Tuffs of fur poked out from her skin, bat wings on top her head that served as her ears were now larger and demonic, as well as he back pair. Her fangs had grown sharp and long, long enough to rival his fangs length._

 _Something inside Night Shift clicked as he stared at the female vampire on top of him, something that he would never admit or acknowledge, something that he or anyone else thought didn't exist within him that should not be. Something that he gave to others with one look of his death glare but no one gave to him._

 _Fear._

 _A cry of rage and fury left Bat Spin's mouth, pulling Night Shift up by his neck in a crush vice-like grip that her now clawed hands dug into his skin, and tossed him directly into the stone wall, hard and strong enough that he left a crater in it._

 _The air rushed out of his lungs as he landed on the ground, picking himself off the floor and almost hack as a metallic taste rose in the back of his throat. He was_ DEFIANTLY _going to feel that in the morning. Before he was even ready to fight, his neck was back in the grip before he could even dodge and thrown all the way to the other side of the room, crashing into the wall again. This time, it was his face that collided with the stone first._

 _Stars twirled around his head as he got out from the rubble, swaying unsteadily. Yep. Defiantly going to feel that in the morning for a while. Shaking his head to clear his vision, he growled at the female, spitting on the floor and ignoring how deep red it was. NOW he was angry. But he couldn't let this last for long. He was tiring and he wasn't sure if his body could last for. He needed to put an end to this quickly. Readying himself, he teleported in her direction…_

 _Only for a clawed hand to grab him by the front of his vest just before he could reach his destination, held up high as he stared down at her in complete shock. No one should have been able to grab him when he teleported! It was impossible!_

 _She growled, tightening her grip on Night Shift before slamming his back down hard into the ground. A small sense of satisfactory coursed through her as he a pitiful wheeze escaped the vampire's mouth, clearly not prepared for that. Lifting him up again, she again slammed down to the ground, harder this time, hearing something crack. She did it again, this time he tried to get out of her grip. And again, he coughed up a bit of blood. Again, he was struggling feebly, weakening. And again, large cracks were forming underneath him. Again, his eyes were struggling to stay open. And one more time, with full force as she slammed him down on his side, smiling when her ears caught the faint sound of bones breaking._

 _She released her hold, letting him fall to the ground. There was no movement as he laid there, still and silent, his own blood dripping into puddles around him._

 _He was down for the count._

 _A smirk played on her lips, turning to head off… but paused, looking back at the fallen Skylander. Imagine to her surprise when she spotted a little black bat flying above Night Shift's still form, letting out tiny squeaks of bat shrieks and occasionally tugging his hair or his ear. Now, quite frankly, she knew this bat wasn't one of hers, its body was too small and its wings were more triangular shaped, but she was surprised none the less that a bat was around Night Shift, who by most was labeled as an animal repellent. What was even more confusing was the fact that she couldn't understand what the little bat was saying at all, and she grew up living in a colony of bats. But being in the same species didn't mean they always had the same language._

 _She frowned as the little bat landed on top Night Shift's head, still letting out high squeaks as it crawled over to his ear. If she could understand it she could probably help it out… somehow. But right now seemed the best time to get it away from the fallen Skylander. "Come now little one." She reached out to carefully pick up the small bat which now was shrieking loudly in the vampire's ear. "Don't go near hi—"_

 _A black boxing glove grabbed her outstretched arm, giving her no time to act as she was thrown to the ground, bouncing off the stone and landed some feet away. Once she was able to pick herself off the floor and look back, her fury returned as she saw the vampire was able to stand up. Beaten and battered and only able to glare out his good eye but he was standing and glaring. The little black bat hung off his ear, wrapped around by its wings and glaring at her as well._

 _"_ _Malen'kiy vreditel'." She spat._

 _"_ _Teper' eto ne ochen' khoroshaya veshch', chtoby skazat'." He smirked, adjusting his gloves before beating them together. His smirk faded and replaced by a scowl. "Pust' nachnetsya bitva real'nyy."_

 _"_ _Soglasen."She lunged at him, teeth bared and claws ready._

 _He didn't move, only bringing his gloves up to block his head as the female vampire bit into one of them. More pacifically, the right one. His mouth twisted into a grin. Swinging his glove back, he swung it around and around at incredible speed, stopping only briefly to smirk evilly at the dizzy eyed female before punching with his famous upper cut, satisfactory swelled within him as he saw her taking the blow and crash through the ceiling._

 _The little bat squeaked, flapping its wings._

 _Night Shift huffed, rolling his shoulder. "Don't get cocky." He glared up at the hole. "She's not down and out yet."_

 _And just as those words left his mouth, Bat Spin shot out from the hole at rapid speed, grasping Night Shift once again by the throat in both hands and slammed him hard to the ground. The force of the impact on the already weakened ground caused it to break, sending both vampires through and tumbling down to the lower level of the academy which resided as the basement._

 _Night Shift growled, punching the female vampire off him before crash landing into some wooden crates._

 _Bat Spin was better off than him, using her enlarged wings to land safely. Once she was on the ground, she growled at the direction she saw him land in, expecting him to jump at her any moment._

 _…_ _Nothing._

 _Her face formed a frown. He should have jumped out by now. He didn't seem like the type to just lay and wait for very long. Carefully, she began to go over to the crates, her senses on high alert in case he jumped out. She was just three feet away from the crates now. Was he waiting for her to come over and attack? Two feet away. Surly he would have struck by now. One foot away. Her eyes never left the crates._

 _Carefully, she looked in the shattered crates… almost screaming out in worry. "Bozhe moy Gospod'!" She cried out, reverting back to her regular form in shock. Quickly and carefully she moved the broken crates aside, reaching in and pulling Night Shift out as the boxer grunted in pain, being extra careful not to touch the right side of his chest where the thin metal beam punctured through._

 _If he had the strength to punch her in the face, he would. But he was in too much pain. Both from the fight and from the beam that he landed on. It stung like fire, but luckily it hadn't punctured anything vital._

 _Bat Spin carefully laid Night Shift down, keeping a hold on him so that the beam wouldn't move around so much. "Prosti!" She mumbled. "Prosti! Prosti prosti prosti pro—"_

 _"_ _DOSTATOCHNO!" Night Shift snapped, grunting in pain before sighing. "… To think, I'd be taken down by a female of my kind." He huffed lowly._

 _"_ _And what is that supposed to mean?" She asked, not liking his tone one bit._

 _He eyed her with his good eye before looking away, mumbling something under his breathe._

 _"_ _What was that? I didn't catch that."_

 _His face scrunched a little, still keeping his voice low._

 _Bat Spin huffed. "Again, only louder this time."_

 _Night Shift raised a brow at her. "What are you? A mother?"_

 _"_ _No!" Bat Spin quickly denied. "I'm only asking what you were saying under your breathe moments ago."_

 _"…"_

 _"…_ _Well?"_

 _"…_ _It… It means that I'm surprised how strong you are." Night Shift mumbled, trying hard not to look at her. "I've fought many opponents in my years, but." He glanced at her. "Never have I fought someone such as you."_

 _Bat Spin blinked, and for some reason, she felt that she had done something big, something unimaginable, something that no one would do in their right of mind. Then she recalled how most Skylanders would avoid the vampire, how they seemed to hold back the fear in their voice when they spook to him, how they tried to not look at him, and how rarely anyone spared against him in the training ring. Were they… avoiding out of fear of his power?_

 _She looked at him, seeing he had turned his gaze away from her again. "…" From what she had saw, he certainly was powerful, if not a grump at times, but surly he wasn't all that bad to be feared… right?_

 _"_ _And to think that only my idiot cluster of a team were the only ones who would stand against me before." Night Shift grumbled, possibly not caring if she was listening or not._

 _"_ _Your… team?" She asked, tilting her head. She didn't know that he had a team. From what she could recall, he seemed more like a loner than a team member._

 _He scoffed, glancing at her again. "Think back to the days you can remember some certain idiots coming from Cloudbreak Islands and bringing their stupidity along."_

 _Well that was easy. There wasn't a lot of Skylanders that came from the Cloudbreak Islands. If she recalled correctly, there wasn't really any teams that she knew about. Well, any new teams that she was told about except maybe this one team that disappeared a hundred years ago and came ba—_

 _She stared at him, eyes wide and mouth in a thin line. "… You're… a swapper?"_

 _He scoffed, rolling his eye. "Give the lady a prize! She figured it out."_

 _"_ _Give me some slack. I'm new here." Bat Spin huffed, shoving him lightly in the side and winced when he grunted in pain. "Sorry."_

 _He grumbled. "New? What, like you were just recruited as a Skylander or something?"_

 _She looked away, her bat ears bent downwards slightly._

 _"…_ _You… aren't just a new recruit… right?"_

 _"…_ _six or seven months at the least." She sighed._

 _"…_ **WHAT?!** _"_

 _She nearly jumped, keeping her grip on the older vampire as he quickly sat up and stared at her in open shock, thinking that he was either ignoring the pain or the adrenaline was dulling it if he managed to get up quickly._

 _"_ _Six or seven?! Six or sev-I GOT BEATEN BY A FLEDGLING?!" He shouted, anger crossing his face before it vanished completely and replaced with a look realization mixed with amazed surprised. "… Po elementam, I got beaten by a fledgling…" His eyes stared off into nothingness. "Beaten by a fledgling. Beaten by a fledgling. Beaten by a_ fledgling _." He kept mumbling._

 _She puffed her cheeks, turning her gaze away from him. "I'm not a fledgling." She growled slightly._

 _"_ _A fledgling. A fledgling with krasivaya alyye glaza dragotsennyy kamen'."_

 _A blush appeared on her face as her ears and back wings shot upwards. "… w-what?"_

 _"_ _What?" He looked at her, snapping out of his daze._

 _"_ _What… what did you say about my eyes?"_

 _It was his turn to look surprised, the skin on his cheeks darkened slightly. "… BA! Nothing!" He sharply looked away from her, not daring to look back and see the blush forming on her face, or see the small smile growing on it, or dared to glance at her when she leaned her head against his side and let out a small quiet giggle._

* * *

How odd that that fight was just a year ago, and now her she was again, in the basement underneath the academy, sitting next to Skylands number one hot tempered boxer after an epic fight… well, it wasn't really that epic as Spitfire barely ever had a chance to put up a fight against the vampire who was engulfed in a unearthly rage that she had ever seen him in. And judging by the condition of the room when she arrived, she could clearly see that the fire demon speedstar was likely tossed around like rag-doll by the jaws of an angry deranged lion.

She didn't see the condition the demon was in, nor did she care. Her only concern was the fact that Night Shift was nowhere in the room when she arrived. Her only clues she had to where he had gone was the destruction he left in his wake of his rampage that lead her to here under the academy.

So now here she was, sitting next to him as he sat quietly on the floor, fuming in rage and unspeakable anger, but surprising still and calm with the upper half of his face poking out of his crossed arms. No words were exchanged, no acknowledgment of each others presence were shown, nothing around them moved or made a sound. It was only them and no one else there.

Once or twice she would look at him, deciding whether or not to say anything to him or to keep silent for a while longer, and both times she decided against it, thinking that he still needed sometime to cool off his anger.

After a few hours or so of silence, she finally felt that she needed to say something. "… Night Shift?"

No answer, not even a flinch. So far, so good.

"… Night Shift, do you want to talk?"

This time, after a moment of pause, he shifted slightly, looking at her with his still anger filled eyes, though she could see that the fire of rage in them was dimming a bit. He looked at her in silence for a long moment before turning away from her again, casting his gaze downwards, shaking his head slightly.

"… Do you… want me to talk instead?"

He nodded after a brief moment.

She shifted closer to him, closing the space between them till they were only a few inches apart from each other. "… So…" She tapped her fingers together, trying to find anything that would seem appropriate to talk about. "… How… how did the mission go? Anything happen there?"

There was no verbal answer from him, but he managed a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"… Oh, okay." She looked away a bit, trying to think of anything else to say. "… I… I hear that Rip Tide tried to impress Punk Shock by wrestling a lighting shark and wounded up trapped in an eagles nest high up." She chuckled slightly, watching him as he looked at her with one eye. "That certainly impressed Punk Shock, though it wasn't what he planned in the first place… and certainly didn't expect to gain a fear of birds." A tiny laugh left her mouth, dying out when he looked away from her again. "… Night Shift, from what I've been told, you attack Spitfire." She didn't flinch away when she heard a grumbling growl come from him once she mentioned the fire racer's name. "And, from what I know about you, you don't go and just attack people without reason."

He stayed silent.

Taking that as an okay sign, she leaned against him, feeling him lean in slightly to her touch. "Moy sil'nyy, what happened that made you so mad?" She asked, using the nickname that she started using for him for some months now.

Silence filled the room once again, letting the still moment pass between them. Finally, Night Shift sighed, lifting his head slightly, turning his face to look at her, his eyes were glanced to the sides. "… I…" A deep sigh left him. "I… I knew… it was a terrible idea to leave the kit alone with my team today." His eyes looked at her. "With how they kept losing sight of him in just few seconds flat over the past few days, I thought that they would loss him again." He looked away slightly. "… I was right when I returned. And wouldn't you know! They lost him. In The Vents!" He threw his gloves up, growling under his breathe before sighing and putting them down. "Of course I… started tearing out the vents once I heard that, heh. No cool air for anyone for a while." He looked away, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"That… would explain a lot actually." Bat Spin laughed slightly, remembering seeing torn out air vent and broken walls in her search for Night Shift.

He chuckled, looking at her a sheepish grin. "Heh heh… heh…" His grin melted away. "… and then that's when I heard…"

"… heard… what?"

"… A scream." He looked at her, eyes burning less of anger and clouded with sadness. "His scream."

She nodded, no needing for info to know who had screamed.

Night Shift fell slightly again before huffing. "To think to my shock I follow the scream and—" He stopped himself, his nose flared and his chest puffed out a little as a deep growl played in his throat.

Bat Spin wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head more against him, feeling the warmth of his rage radiate off his body as he tried to calm down.

"… And then? All I saw was red. Everything in my line of vision, red. No other color except red… heh." He placed one glove over one of her hands, closing his eyes. "… When my vision cleared, _Spitfire_ … was in a mattered mess." He opened his eyes, looking at her once again. "… I… wasn't quite calm yet… so." He shook his head. "I vented on the way here."

"I saw." She rubbed her cheek against him. "… At least no one else got hurt."

"… Hmm."

"… Hey."

"Hm?"

"They got Freeze Blade to the doctor. What I heard was that the fracture wasn't as bad as anyone thought."

"… That is good."

She nodded, tightening her embrace.

"Boo ba!"

Their ears swiveled behind them before they turned their heads around, their eye widen and jaws going slack as Freeze Blade, wearing a white nighty and a deep blue cast on his left arm, crawling somewhat clumsily towards them, grinning all the way.

"Wha-?! Freeze Blade?!" Night Shift almost shouted as Bat Spin released her hold on him, going over to the kit and picking him up. "V techeniye neskol'kikh minut ya uydu, moi tovarishchi po komande strashnyye chasy!" He ranted, getting off the ground and going over to them. Bat Spin smiled as he looked over the kit, being mindful not to touch the cast, before sighing in relief. "No injuries… How did he manage to get down here?"

She only shrugged, adjusting her hold on the toddler as he squirmed a little and reached out with grabbing motions towards Night Shift. "He probably just missed you."

Night Shift huffed, his famous grumpy face returning as he placed his boxing gloves on his hip. "Or maybe my so called team forgot to keep an eye on him as usual."

She only shrugged, reaching out and grasped one of his gloves. "Come. I think we should return now, no?"

He frowned slight, looking between her and Freeze Blade slowly before nodding, allowing her to pull him along, neither noticing two bats lying on the floor in exhaustion as they passed by.

* * *

 **Rg'h lmv dzb gl hvv gsilfts zmlgsvi kvihlm'h vbvh, yfg rg'h zmlgsvi gdrmt gl hvv gsilfts zmlgsvi hkvxrvh vbvh gl hvv rg.**


	16. Old Memories

_Crim: Russian. They are speaking in Russian. Though I think I messed up a bit on that._

 _icepelt2000: YEAH! GIRL POWER! And, again, it's Russian that they're speaking. I think that to some extent that vampires still have some blood left in them. Oh good, I hope that you enjoy your story making._

 _LiteFox: Yes, the wait was defiantly worth it. Spitfire is... suffering, at the moment. But other than that he's fine! ...ish. Action will be ensure in the future and so will the love birds!  
_

 _SnowPrincess20: Russian, and I thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink both would be pretty bad._

 _Guest: Yes, they are indeed in love dear reader. I'm glad that you think that way too! Shippers gonna ship!_

 _Alright! Happy late Valentines Day everyone! I'm sorry that I haven't been adding chapters as much as before, but I'm pretty busy right now with my life with work and collage right now, but I promise to keep working on the story and update as quickly as possible! Also, I would like to point out that I may have made a slip up in the language that Night Shift and Bat Spine were speaking in the last chapter. They were speaking in Russian and I used the English version of it instead of the original. Fret not however! Other languages will stay to their original format from this point on! NOW ON TO THE STORY!  
_

* * *

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

"Freeze Blade! Enough!" Stink Bomb groaned as he, once again, had to pull Freeze Blade away from the wall of the library where the tot constantly crawled, or tried to crawl as best he could with the cast on his arm, over to and continuously hit the cast against. Twisting the tot around, he set him between his legs in front of his favorite little colored ball. Unfortunately, baby Blade paid no attention to his favorite toy and instead shook his cast covered arm, whining loudly in displeasure.

A tired sigh left Stink Bomb's mouth. "Freeze, plllleeeeeeeeease! The doctor says you have to wear it for another two days and three weeks."

"But you know how much he hates casts." Night Shift retorted, turning another page of the newspaper.

"I thought it would be easier since he's a baby at the moment!" The swamp skunk snapped, pulling the cast out of Freeze Blade's mouth again for the twentieth time now. "At least he's not doing any wild stunt to make it worse or anything."

Night Shift hummed, recalling all the times when Freeze Blade had broken a limb and was forced to wear a cast so it would heal properly. But Freeze Blade never liked to wear casts. In fact he thought of just the opposite of them. He would scratch and whine and hiss and spit and growl and bite and put up the worst fight when they would try to put the cast on him. It mostly took half of the team to restrain him just so they could put the cast on him. Plenty of faces would be scratched up with weeks of frost bite to accompany them. Oh boy, it was even harder after they managed to get the limb set in the cast.

Some part of the team blamed Wash Buckler for the cat's stubbornness and refusal to rest and heal his broken bones, and often had to be drag the cat back into bed in hissing and biting fit. Magna Charge still had some scratch marks left over from the last time they had to bring Freeze Blade back and Fire Kraken was actually scared to even go near him for a whole month just because Freeze Blade bite the end of his tail and wouldn't let go until they tranquilized the cat.

And you'd be surprised how many tranquilizers it took…

And you would think that now since he was a toddler it was easier right?

Wrong.

Oh so very wrong.

Spy Rise was still in his lab trying to fix his eye after the kit somehow figured out how to shoot an ice beam right into his face. After that little incident, he wanted no part in caring for the kit while his arm was healing, which left the others to take care of him without the tech's help. But that didn't mean they were spared from the tiny tot's wrath.

Endless whining, late hour crying, continuously hitting his cast against anything and everything, stubbornly refusing to eat, and it was even worse when he started using his new knowledge of his power of ice beam on them. That led most of the team to give up in caring for the kit after the first two days. The only poor souls who were actually left were Night Shift, Stink Bomb, Wash Buckler, and Rubble Rouser, and so far? They were **not** enjoying it. Not one bit.

Stink Bomb rolled his eyes as Freeze Blade turned his head and hissed at him, ears laid back against his head and toothless mouth wide open. "Freeze Blade, this would be so much easier for everyone if you stopped being so difficult right now." He got another hiss from the tot. "For the love of, Night Shift can you watch him for a bit? I'm going to get some food and try to get him to eat."

A gruff humph was all he got for an answer.

"Thanks." Stink Bomb stood up, picking up the tot, handing him to the vampire and leaving to get some food.

Night Shift folded the newspaper away, looking down at the babyfied wildcat, raising a brow at the glare he was given by the tot. "Normally, I'm the one giving the glare." He commented.

Freeze Blade humph, which would have been cute had it not been for the glare, twisting his head away from the vampire and tried to gnaw through his cast again.

"Ah think we got another Night Shift on our hands."

Night Shift cast a glare at the chuckling rock golem. "That better not be a joke." He growled.

Rubble Rouser only shrugged and chuckled harder. "Maybe. Maybe not." He joked, winking at the vampire with his fully recovered right eye. "The kid takes much after ya Night Shift. It's almost lik' yer his father or somethin'." He laughed heartily, leaning off the wall and took a step forward in a probable escape in case the vampire boxer lashed out at him, only to cut his laughing short when he saw the look on Night Shift's face.

Night Shift wasn't one to show his emotions often, if none at all, so it was quite rare if not a once in a lifetime thing to see something other than the gruff, grumpy, angry scowl on his face. A shock, surprised expression was new and disturbing to see on the vampire. It was… creepy. Especially the silence that dragged on between them with only Freeze Blade's constant gnawing breaking it.

"… You alrigh'?" He took a careful step forward, reaching out towards Night Shift. "Hey, don' take it too—"

"No." He flinched, backing up a step as Night Shift shook his head and looked at the kit with, -was that even possible for the vampire?!-, pity. "I'm not like father to him. Not me, not you, not Wash Buckler, not anyone." He said in a soft voice, surprising and scaring Rubble Rouser, rubbing his chin on top the wildkit's head.

Freeze Blade turned to glare at the black thing… only to pause and stare at it. The black thing looked… sad. Why was his black thing sad? He took out the hard bad tasting thing from his mouth so he could talk easier. "Ni ni? Ni ni?" Over a week ago, Freeze Blade had started to make a few attempts at talking, which his first little sounds other than baby babble were ni ni, which everybody quickly figured out that ni ni was actually his words for Night Shift. Of course Night Shift wasn't that pleased that the now a six month old, soon to turn seven month old in a couple more days, had tried to say his name… but that didn't explain why he hardly left the toddler alone the whole day and refused to give him up when his turn was over.

"Ni ni? Ba ba be ba?"

"…" A sigh left the vampire's mouth, rubbing his chin against the kit more.

Rubble Rouser frowned, not enjoying this softer side of Night Shift one bit. He was more used to the gruff, grumpy, punching your lights out Night Shift. Not… this. "Uh, well, ah—"

"NOTHING MATTERS!" Heads swiveled over to the door. Wash Buckler was leaning against the doorway, fumbling as he tried to righten himself up, only to fall back against the door frame for support. Something was… off, about him. Maybe it was the way he was actually stumbling as he walked, maybe it was the groggy bubbling way his voice sounded, maybe it was how tipsy his hat was and how his mustache was drooped down instead of curled, or maybe the biggest stand out was how he looked even goofier than ever before and had this wild unrecognizable look in his eyes.

They stared at him as he tripped and fumbled, falling flat on his face before slowly with a few slip ups picking himself upright, bending his body in ways that were impossible for people with bones in their bodies to bend.

Night Shift cast a wide eyed glance at Rubble Rouser before they both looked back at their leader, who was trying to pick himself off the ground after tripping over one of his tentacles again. "Uh, Wash Buckler?" He looked at the squid confusingly and uncertainty. "Are you… okay?"

Rubble Rouser scratched his head. "You lookin' like yer disorientate'."

"I NEVEBR BEEN GEARTN!" Wash Buckler shouted, throwing his hands up in the air before bending backwards at an impossible angle to be in, giggling all the way. "HEY!" He stood straight, eyes locking onto baby Freeze. "YOU WANBA HEAR THE HISTORY FO SKYBANDS FREEZEY BEEZEY?!"

A look a horror crossed the swappers faces as realization dawned on them after hearing that. Freezey Beezey was what Wash Buckler called Freeze Blade when his mind was going into crazy mode. But that only happened on two accounts. One was when he had downed a few drinks after parting all night. The second was when—

"Skylands was founded in, heck, how should I knowb? On the history, of I Hate You! A-and right from birth, we say I hate everything! So anyway! When the first early Skyland, maa, brity, I don't remember, first landed on the banks of Skylands, their shirts werrre invaded by these Swo… Swolly? Sawlly? Dolly? Polly want a… EARLY PEOPLE THAT WE DIDN'T KNOW BUT WERE THERE FIRST! And, they were all like, 'Sup _nerds?!_ Nice um, chair hats you got!" He suddenly got in front of Night Shift's face, poking the vampire in the eye. "And the early Skywhatever they called themselves at the time were all like, 'I don't much care for your, your sciencey things! MMM! I don't think we'll be good fri-OH NO WERE DYING OF BOREDOM!"

Rubble Rouser looked around awkwardly as Wash Buckler clung it his drill feet. "And the early fristies were like, 'You neeeed some action bro. Here take this time thingamagy and go blow some stuff up!' And we were like, 'OH! That's awesome! Hey can we steal all this land and tak all your homes?' And they were like, 'Mmm. I don' knowk. That doesn't seen for to us.' And they go off to safe the world and we were all like." He twisted he head around, staring at Freeze Blade with wide eyes which Freeze Blade didn't enjoy all too much and coward in Night Shift's hold. "We gotta get rid of these guys cause were screatly bad people!" He said, dropping his voice in a deep tone, jumping back up and swaying side to side.

"And then we were, 'OH! We can! We can share! You knowj! You might need something from us! We might ned something from you!' And the Sawladys were like, 'Well maybe we need more sweat towls for out, MMMMASSIVE, a-and impressive-and they were massive and impressive, work outs.' And we're like, 'OH sure sure! Hey! Um, disease snort Joy! You got any spare, AND THEN WE KILLED THEM ALL! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! Th-there was blood, and, and dead bodies. Their, their girly and boy parts were hu—"

"OKAY! Wash Buckler, buddy, bro! Let's go see Spy Rise, alright?" Blast Zone, popping up behind Wash Buckler, calmly stated, hovering a hand over the squid's shoulder.

"JE SUIS MICHAEL JACKSON!" Wash Buckler shouted, running over to the railing, somehow managing to not trip, and fling himself over the railing. Everybody's eyes were wide with their mouths hanging open, staring at where the Mermasquid had flung himself over. "La misère est une équipe le meilleur ami!"

A sigh of mixed relief and tiredness left Blast Zone as he turned his focus on the three present swappers. "Sorry, he's been acting like that since this morning." He chuckled uneasy, rubbing the back of his head.

"…" Night Shift glanced at the furnace knight, dropping his voice low. "Get. Him. On. A. Leash. And. Out. Of. My. Sight!" He hissed at the last part, rubbing the eye that Wash Buckler poked.

A visible flinch went through Blast Zone's body, feeling a cold sensation crawling up his back. "Uh, r-right. Rubble Rouser I'll need your help on this one."

"On it!" He chimed, following after Blast Zone… or was following after Blast Zone. A confused look crossed his face as he jerked to a stop, looking back at Night Shift with a raised brow. Clinging onto his hand was Freeze Blade, clearly shaken up by the whole ordeal he had just seen as his tiny body was shaking and trembling in fear, having a tight grip on Rubble Rousers hand.

"… Rubble Rouser." The rock golem flinched, looking up at Night Shift's face. "Let. The kitten. Go."

"Well, uh, see here' the thin' Night Shift." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand, trying veeeeery hard not to cower under the dark casting glare that Night Shift was giving him. "See, the kid's got a grip on my han' an—"

"Then cut it off."

"WHOA! Hold on a minute Nigh'Shif'! Ya can' jus' cu' my hand off!"

"Why not? It'll just grow back."

"That only happens when there's still some part lef' of the missin' piece! Cuttin' it all off an' i' won' grow back!"

"Well I guess it's bad luck for you then."

"… beg yer pardon?" Rubble Rouser asked, feeling his eyes shrink.

"You heard me." Night Shift said with an evil glint in his eyes. "Say goodbye to your hand."

"OR! Or! Or you can come with me to help catch Wash Buckler, Night Shift." Blast Zone, jumping in on the nick of time as Night Shift was prepared to bite the golem's hand off. "Freeze Blade doesn't have a grip on you, so you can move around." He chuckled, though his uneasiness was quite clear in it. "Besides, Rubble Rouser needs _both_ of his hands. Why don't you let him watch over the toddler for a bit?"

"Because it's still my turn to watch the kit." Night Shift retorted with a snort. "He can watch the kit after he's done helping you catch Wash Buckler."

"With both of his hands?" Blast Zone asked, looking at the growing worry on Rubble Rouser's face.

"Oh sure."

Relief crossed the two swappers' faces.

"If the kitten lets go first."

Panic rose in their chests. Surly Night Shift wasn't serious?

"BOXING IS FOR OLD UGLY LADIES!"

Silence filled the whole academy. Blast Zone and Rubble Rouser were stone quiet, their eyes widen beyond their limits, and jaws hitting the floor. Slowly, eyes turned to look at Night Shift.

His face was unreadable, stiff like stone and eerily quiet.

"… Five minutes. No more. No less. Good bye." And with that, he teleported out of sight, the heavy air lifting once he was gone.

"… uh, I'm uh…" Blast Zone started, slowly comprehending of a very likely scenario in his head. "Iiiiiiiiii'llllllllllllllllllll… BYE!" With that, he jetted out of the room as quick as his jets could carry him.

Rubble Rouser blinked, looking at the door that Blast Zone had gone out through, to Freeze Blade. The poor toddler clung to his hand like a teddy bear, having an impressively tight grip on the golem.

"… Heh, well kiddo." He chuckled, adjusting his arms so that the toddler was cradled safely in his arms. "Looks lik' yer stuck with me fer a while." He winked, walking over to the forgotten colored ball and picking it up, heading out the door with the kit in tow. "Though, ah don' think this place will be the best in 'bout, hmm, some seconds or such. How 'bout you an' me go someplace that's a lil' less stressful, k?" With a chuckle, he rounded the corner, quickly snatching the baby bottle out of Stink Bomb's hand as he passed by and didn't stop to look back as the skunk looked at him questionably. "An' ah know juuuuuust the place."

* * *

 _"_ _Where are we going again? We've been walking for hours!"_

 _Rubble Rouser turned his head to look behind him, raising a brow on his stone face. "Ah though' you liked long walks?"_

 _"_ _I do!" Freeze Blade perked up, smiling at the golem. "But that's when I have no destination in mind and I'm in my element, not having to be slow just so I can follow someone." He sighed, ears flopping against his head and shoulders slumped, dragging his ice skates into the ground. "And then it gets boooorrrriing!" He lifted his arms high in the air before slouching again. "And why did we have to leave so early in the morning? And why am I the only one you woke up? Is this a punishment or something? Did Spy Rise put you up to this?"_

 _An amused chuckle left his mouth as he reached over and patted Freeze Blade on top the head. "An' here ah though' you had an endless supply of energy in ya, kid."_

 _"_ _I'm not a kid!" Freeze Blade whined, pushing the hand away from his head. "I'm over a hundred years old!"_

 _"_ _An' ya still act like a youn' boy." He smirked as the ice cat leered at him._

 _"_ _Not. Funny."_

 _He held up his hands in a mock surrender. "Yer right. Yer right, ah'm sorry. But ya are the youngest of the team."_

 _"_ _I'm only two years younger than Boom Jet, give me a break!" Freeze Blade wailed. "Two whole years! That's not enough to consider me as a kid compared to the rest of you guys!"_

 _"_ _Cept Night Shift maybe." He mumbled, getting a 'yeah that's true' response from the cat. "But hey, yer right. Yer a big boy now." He patted Freeze Blade on the back, earning a confused glance from him. "An' big boys shouldn' be treated as kids an' such."_

 _Freeze Blade came to a halt in his tracks, prompting the golem to stop and look at him. His eyes behind the mask were narrowed, giving him a suspicious glance. "Something's up with you."_

 _"_ _Wha? Me? Good ol' Rubble Rouser?" He patted his chest as he did air motions with his other hand. "Wha ever put that into yer mind?"_

 _Freeze Blade's eyes narrowed more at him, putting his hands in his hips. "Well, for starters, you're acting all funny. Usually you're more laid back and calm and maybe even eating a rock once or twice, but now you're acting like you're dodging my questions."_

 _"_ _Ah haven' been dodging yer questions Freeze."_

 _"_ _Yes! You have! You hadn't answered a_ single _one of my questions!" Freeze Blade huffed, crossing his arms. "And I_ know _you're basically the only one who really answers me!"_

 _"_ _Oh yeah?"_

 _"_ _Yeah! Night Shift huffs or growls, Spy Rise doesn't even give any indication that he listens to me one bit, Wash Buckler is too goofy to talk to, Blast Zone would just shrug it off as some teenager thing, and I'm sure that all the REST of the GUYS HARDLY EVEN HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY TO THEM! SO JUST ANSWER ONE OF MY QUESTIONS ALRIGHT?! WHERE! ARE! WE!_ **GOING** _?!" Freeze Blade screamed at the top of his lungs, breathing deep and heavy as he glared at him._

 _He remained silent, watching the cat with a neutral face. Freeze Blade never got this angry, nor did he get frustrated or snappy with anyone, it just wasn't in him. No, he was a happy go fun having best friend cat all year round._

 _…_ _Except, when it was getting close to…_

 _That day._

 _Then he was like another Night Shift for a whole week, slowly getting worse until it was the middle of the week which by then he would disappear the whole day on with no trace to track him down and find him that not even Spy Rise knew where the cat went to that day, and reappearing after the day went by and slowly go back to his old self again once the week was finally over. It took some time for the SWAP Force to get use to this when the week came around each year, longer for others on the team, but they grew to accept it and tried to deal with it when the week came by._

 _It was lucky for them that it was only one week… but it was also sad because they knew what it meant to Freeze Blade when it came._

 _"…_ _heh, alright. Yer right, ah have been dodging yer questions. An' with good reason to." He smirked. "Cause the place we're goin' to… it's top secret." His smirk grew to a grin as he watched Freeze Blade's face slowly morph from an angry scowl to a more regular look for the feline's face._

 _"…_ _really?"_

 _He could barely hold back the chuckles as Freeze Blade looked at him with the most curiosity anticipated filled covered eyes that matched a child's innocent eyes. Huh, maybe that was the reason why they still considered him as a kid. "Yep. So top secret tha' not even old bug legs knows abou' it."_

 _The smile on Freeze Blade's face was a nice sight to see again. "AWESOME! Is it a secret move?! A unimaginably powerful weapon?! Is it Dr. Who's Tardis?!"_

 _A bounty of laughs left his mouth as he shook his head. "No, no, and even though that would be pretty cool you've got to stop watching those episodes." He chuckled, wiping a tear away from his eye. "No, the place we're goin' doesn' have any of tha' stuff." He slung an arm around the cat's shoulder, pulling him along. "Nah, but it's just as special."_

 _"_ _Why? What is it? Is it cool? Is it awesome?! Is it spectacular?!" Freeze Blade asked, jumping with excitement._

 _"_ _All of th' above." He smiled, spotting the place that they were heading to from the corner of his eye. "An' yer abou' to see it." A smirk came on his face as Freeze Blade squealed happily. "Right, jus' close yer eyes—"_

 _"_ _Why?"_

 _"_ _Cause this place has to be kept a secret."_

 _"_ _Aaaah come on Rubble Rouser! I promise I won't tell anyone about it!"_

 _"_ _Nope, sorry Freeze Blade. If ya can't keep them closed then ah guess we could start headin'—"_

 _"_ _Alright, alright! I'll keep them closed." Freeze Blade huffed, covering his face with his hands._

 _"_ _No peeking alright?" He waved a hand in front of the cat's face to make sure that he wasn't peeking._

 _"_ _Yeah, yeah, can we hurry?"_

 _With a smile, he ran over to the bolder, grunting as he rolled it aside. Behind the bolder were three passage ways, two of which he knew they were fakes. Getting back to Freeze Blade, he guided the cat inside, pushing him in the correct pathway and rolled the bolder back over the entrance, sealing them in darkness. Keeping one hand on the frost feline and another on the wall, he guided them through the dark, remembering which way to turn and which path to stick to._

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _Yes!"_

 _"_ _Really?!"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Oh… Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we there yet?"_

 _"_ _No."_

 _"_ _Are we—"_

 _"_ _Yes! We're here."_

 _"…"_

 _"_ _Ya can take yer hands off yer eyes on Freeze."_

 _"_ _How do I know you're not lying?"_

 _"_ _How do ya know ah'm not?"_

 _"…_ _Touché." Freeze Blade put his hands down, opened his eyes, and had his breath taken away as he gasped at the sight. "WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH-HO-HO-HOOOO! WHAT IS THIS PLACE?!"_

 _He chuckled, patting the kid on the shoulder. "This is the place ah wanted to show ya." He gazed around the brightly lit cavern. "Found it while ah was diggin' fer rocks an' thought ya might like it."_

 _Freeze Blade skated forward, looking around the room with wide interest and wonder as a smile grew on his face. The cavern was filled with different colored crystals, all shining brightly with different hues and shades that cast a unique display of atmosphere in the place. He went over to the wall, smiling at his reflection in the stone. "How come you only wanted to show me this place? Why not Doom Stone since you're close friends with him?"_

 _"_ _Well, ah considered tha' thought too." He leaned against the wall, watch Freeze Blade make faces at the crystals. "But then ah thought that ya might enjoy it more. Doomy isn' really a more relaxed type ya know?" He chuckled, getting off the wall and walked over to the cat. "If ya ever feel like comin' back her' jus' let me know k?"_

 _Freeze Blade whipped his head around, looking at him with prized glee. "You mean it?!"_

 _He smiled at him. "As my word as a Skylander."_

 _"_ _AWESOME! Thanks Rubbs!" Freeze Blade latched on to the golem, giving him the best hug he could manage._

 _"_ _Heh heh. Yer welcome Freeze." He hugged back, keeping in mind not to squeeze the kid too hard. His smile fell however after a moment, looking down at the cat with a sad expression. Freeze Blade was smiling, eyes closed as he hugged the golem._

 _"…_ _happy early birthday gift freeze."_

 _"_ _What?" Freeze Blade blinked up at him. "Were you mumbling something?"_

 _"_ _Nah! Not me!" He put on his best smile, grabbing Freeze Blade by the shoulder. "Hey, want to check out more of this place?" He chuckled as Freeze Blade hopped up and down, talking so fast with excitement, pulling him along as they explore more of the cavern together._

"Oooooooo~"

Snapping back from the memory, he looked down at the toddler in his arms, smiling as Freeze Blade looked at the crystals with very wide curious and astonished covered eyes, reaching out with his good arm to touch the smooth surface. With a chuckle, he held the kitten closer, watching him as the toddler giggled and laughed, running his tiny finger over the surface.

"Beauty ain't it? Brings back a few good memories now an' then. It almost feels like it was jus' yesterday tha' ah brought ya here…" A frown came upon his face. "… though, heh, it was a little sad too ah guess. Since ah showed it to ya when ya were on the week… Ya disappeared the next day." His face looked down cast as he recalled that memory. "Some par' of me was hopin' tha' ya were hidin' here where we would find ya…" He shook his head sadly. "Nope. Ya weren' there as ah hoped. Pity really. Ah though that this would be a perfect place fer ya to hide when the day came… guess ya figured otherwise…"

Freeze Blade looked up at the brown hard thing, sensing a sudden mood change in the air. "… ba bee?" He shifted in its hold, patting its face as he babbled in toddler talk.

"… heh." Rubble Rouser smiled as baby Freeze patted his face. "Yer quite the lil' rascal ya know?" He chuckled before hanging the kid upside down suddenly, keeping a good grip on him as an eruption of laughter left the tot's mouth. "Ya like that?" He chuckled, rightening the kid up again before doing it again, earning even more laughter that he soon found himself joining in to.

After a few minutes and getting the last of the giggles out of their system, Rubble Rouser sat down on the floor, handing the toddler his bottle as he was getting a bit fussy. "Fussy lil' thin' aren't cha?" He chuckled as Freeze Blade was busy eating. "Well, as soon as yer done, we should head back. Night Shift might be done poundin' Wash Buckler an' got him to bug legs already."

A slight shiver went up his back. "Crazy right? We all go through fazes each year, you with yer week and Wash with his… uh, heat." If rocks could only blush, then his cheeks would be crimson. Ever year in one particular month for a whole day, Wash Buckler would start acting crazy, -crazier than usual-, and out of whack with his senses and reality.

When it first happened a hundred years back, no one was prepared for it and it left a looooot of memories at the time. Spy Rise had figured out what the problem was after he managed to put Wash Buckler to sleep, who knew frying pans would be so useful?, and made an antibiotic for the Mermasquid when that time of year came around again. On a few incidents, Wash Buckler would forget to take it and… well, not everyone would be happy when that happened.

"Let's hope tha' Spy can help with tha'." He chuckled as Freeze Blade let out a tiny burp after finishing his drink. "Whelp, guess we'll figure tha' out now." He carefully picked the toddler up, grabbing the few items that he brought along and started to head back.

Freeze Blade let out a big yawn, snuggling closer to Rubble Rouser chest and fell asleep with the look of contemptment on his face.

"Heh, sleep tight lil' guy." He smiled.

* * *

"Again."

"I promise not to bug you for a week and keep out of your inventions and only come to you if there's a serious emergency."

"Again."

"I promise not to bug you for a week and keep out of your inventions and only come to you if there's a serious emergency."

"Again."

Wash Buckler groaned, rubbing his face in irritation. "Spy, I've said it over twenty two times already, can we please be done with this already?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Well for starts." Spy Rise gesture to the hole in the wall.

"… I said I was sorry."

"And the trauma you put a few Skylanders through."

"I'm still embarrassed by what I did."

"And there's the matter with a certain leader."

"I'm not apologizing to him. He got himself in trouble for crossing Night Shift and I see no reason why I should apologize for his behavior."

Spy Rise sighed, shaking his head, readjusting his head gear so it didn't slip off to the one side where it covered his left eye. "I was there, Wash Buckler. And from my stand point, you and Spitfire were BOTH responsible for what happened."

"So why should **_I_** apologize to **_him_**?"

"I'm not saying that you have to apologize to Spitfire, I'm just saying that you should apologize to his team members."

"… oh… wait a minute! Why isn't Night Shift forced to apologize?!"

"Do you really need an answer for that?"

"… Nnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooo."

"I rest my case." Spy Rise huffed, turning back to his work station.

"… So, how's the eye doing?"

"It's fine. The mobility function is working again and its starting to regain color."

"Oh good! Good."

"… There's something you want isn't there?"

Wash Buckler, tapping two fingers together, breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. "Um, what would happen if, say, something scared a little kid—"

Spy Rise sharply looked at him, his remaining eye glued on him. "You didn't."

"I was in heat and crazy! I didn't want to if I had any sense left in me then!"

Spy Rise groaned, hitting his head against the desk. "Buckles!"

"I'm sorry, okay?! Just, please tell me that kids his age don't get… scarred for life."

"Well, unless you find a way to make it up to him and show that you're okay, then you better start getting use to the terror look he'll have each time he sees you!"

Wash Buckler remained silent, contemplating what the spyder had said before a grin broke out across his face. "I know just the thing!"

Spy Rise looked up as he watched Wash Buckler head out the door. A brow raised on his face before he said and got back to work… only for realization to come crashing down hard on him. Spinning around quickly, he went after the squid. "WASH BUCKLER YOU BETTER NOT PLAN ANYTHING CRAZY!"

* * *

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End file.
